Claw Son of Scourge
by anipwrites
Summary: Everyone thought Scourge was a heartless killing machine. But did he ever have a family of his own? What was life like for his kits in BloodClan? What did they do when he died? Find out as Claw tells you what happened in his life.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Scourge, Bone, Brick, or the Warrior Cats series in general. I promise.

BTW…first fanfic uploaded to ! Yay!

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0

Scourge's Kit's

My name is Scourge. You may know me, or you may not know me. I am the leader of BloodClan, the group of cats living in the alleys of the Twoleg place. Some call Twolegs humans.

Most cats look at me and think of me as evil, cruel, and a murderer. To them, to call me insane would be an understatement. They fear me. As long as they fear me, I'm their leader.

But they do not understand why I am this way. My past is…much darker than some others. My brother and sister teased me for being a runt. My mother had named me _Tiny! _None of them loved me. I hated Two-legs, even when I was a Kittypet. So when some strange ones came to play with us, I hid. My sister Ruby said that it was time for us to be sold off, and unwanted kittens were thrown in the river. Then I ran away into the paws of three forest cats.

They had double-names for some reason. The oldest was named Thistleclaw, the blue she-cat was Bluefur, and the young, bulky striped one…Tigerpaw.

Apparently, I had intruded their territory. Bluefur showed me mercy, saying that I was just a kit and wouldn't be any harm. But Thistleclaw ordered Tigerpaw to attack me. I was caught under his paw when Bluefur ordered him to let go.

After that I ran all the way to Two-leg place, where I quickly became leader of BloodClan. My heart grew cold. I thought that nothing could make it thaw.

Then I met Fang. She was grey with white paws, chest fur, tail, and muzzle. Ice blue eyes like mine glowed. She had a blue collar, too. Unlike the others, she ignored the outside shell I have, along with all the rumors, and saw me as who I used to be. I'm not afraid to say I loved her.

Which is why I am currently freaking out right now.

"Are you okay in there?!" I exclaimed

"No! It hurts! It's almost out!" she called back. She was behind a wall, with some other female cats that had been through this before. Before you ask, no, she's not constipated.

She's having kits. _My _kits.

"Uh…okay?" I said. My best friend Bone padded next to me.

"You nervous?" he asked

"Well, duh! She could die in there! What would I do without her?!"

"Well, the she-cats with her will make sure she's fine."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah! Brick's back there with her! She'll be fine." Soon, I heard crying, and some purrs.

"It's a girl!" Brick exclaimed.

"There's about three more!" another cat exclaimed; Bone's wife, Flora.

"Okay!" I said.

"Hey, why don't you find Fang some food?" Bone suggested "She's gonna be starving."

"Good idea." I padded away to a nearby restaurant. The door was open, so I slunk in.

"Look, everyone, it's the cat!" a Twoleg exclaimed. Since I used to be a kittypet, I could understand him.

I walked through the room, the smell of chicken drifting through my nose. Purring, I leapt onto a counter and sat in front of a box.

"You want some chicken?" the Twoleg in front of it asked. I dipped my head, poking the box with my nose. "The whole box? You must be hungry!"

"Actually, my wife's having kits." I said. I doubted he understood, but something told me he did.

"Everyone, the cat has met a fair lady and she is giving birth!" he exclaimed. Everyone cheered, stroking my fur. I purred with pleasure. "How many?"

"Uh…I don't know." Just then, Bone walked in, carrying a kit in his mouth.

"Scourge! She's had three kits! But just take a look at this one!" he said. I hopped down and stepped towards it.

It was almost just like me, but it had two white paws instead of one. Other than that, it was like looking at my past.

"Wow…I'm a father!" I exclaimed. I pranced around the kitchen, my tail swishing around like the things Twolegs made out of shiny pelts they carried around sometimes. What was it…a flag?

"Hey!" Bone exclaimed. I froze and turned my head to look at him. My kit was mewling for food.

"Oh, right!" I said. I jumped onto the counter, took the box of chicken by the large handle, and ran off towards where my wife was. The Twolegs bid me farewell and good luck.

* * *

"Scourge, come meet your kits." Fang called with a purr. I stepped in with the other kit I my mouth. I let him go near his mother, and he scooted over to her and began to drink. Next to him were two other kits; a gray and white she-kit with green eyes, and a black and white tom with green eyes.

"Hey, Bone, this one looks just like you! It even has that beard-thing!" I said with a purr of laughter.

"Really? Cool!"

"I waited for you to come back so we could name them together."

"Okay! Um…lets name the female Ivy." I suggested.

"Okay…what about mini-Bone?"

"Hm…well, Bone has a scratch in between his eyes, so let's name him Scratch. And mini-me can be…not Scourge…"

"How about Tiny?" Bone suggested. I gave him a glare.

"I am not naming my kit Tiny! Do you even realize how much torture that name took me through?! Man, I just wanted to claw my sister's eyes out…that's it! We'll name him Claw!"

"Give me a good reason to name him Claw! I don't want you to think of your sister every time you see him!" Fang insisted. I raised my paw, letting the dog teeth on them gleam in the sunlight.

"What about these? He'll earn them eventually."

"Alright. Ivy, Scratch, and Claw." Fang gave the sleepy kits a lick "They'll be great cats."

* * *

Once again, Scourge, Bone, Brick, and BloodClan in general belong to Erin Hunter.

Popeyes chicken belongs to Popeyes XD

Ciao for now!


	2. Good Times and Bad Dreams

Alright, I'm just uploading this because I'm bored. -_-

So, I know this is a kind-of over-used idea, but things are gonna change. For example, no more Popeyes people.

So, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

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1

Good Times and Bad Dreams

"Can't catch me!" I squeaked as my brother and sister chased after me through the alley. Older cats moved away from us, leaving a perfectly clear path. Or, until I ran into a leg.

"Hey!" I pouted, looking up at the cat who I had knocked into. He was an extremely muscular tom with black and white fur. He had jade green eyes, and looked almost exactly like Scratch except for the long scar in between his eyes. It was who Dad had named Scratch after!

"Hi, Bone!" I greeted. He gave the slightest sign of a smile.

"Hello, Claw. Scratch. Ivy. Your father wants to speak with you." He said.

"Okay!" we exclaimed.

"I bet I'll beat you there!" Ivy added. My siblings and I ran to Dad's den, racing to see who would get there first.

Since I was the fastest of us, I beat them both. They were far behind me. So I was the only one who saw Dad acting weird.

He was sleeping with his back to the entrance, his long tail swishing across the concrete. Then he tensed. His tail froze, and his claws came out.

"No…not again…!" he murmured.

"Hm…? Dad?" I walked up to him and pounced on his tail, trying to wake him up. It didn't work. So I tried tugging on his ear, but it _still _didn't work!

"Socks…Ruby…Mom…I wouldn't be so small if I could help it…! I…no! Stay away, please!" he rolled over, almost flattening me. His claws swiped at the air. I barely managed to avoid my flailing namesakes and land on his back "I…I…ah!" he suddenly sat up, throwing me off him and making me land in a bag of trash.

"Eek!" I squeaked, trying to get out.

"Huh? Who—who's there?!" Dad exclaimed, looking around warily. Then he sighed. "It can't be Tigerpaw…right?"

"Daddy!" I squeaked. He turned around and saw me.

"How did you get in there?" he asked, pulling me out by the scruff of my neck.

"I was trying to wake you up because you were having a bad dream, but you sat up really fast and I ended up in here!" Dad began to blush, and started licking his paw to hide it.

When my siblings came in, he smiled warmly.

"Hi, Father! Why did you call us here?" Ivy asked.

"It's time for me to start training you. In order to survive in BloodClan, you have to know how to fight. Food is scarce, and although you're my kits that doesn't mean a few cats wont fight you for it. Also, there are dogs that will prevent any cat from eating food and will have to be defeated."

"We have to do that all by ourselves?!" Scratch exclaimed, trembling.

"I'll face the challenge!" I said, head held high and chest puffed out. "Those meanies won't know what hit them!" Dad chuckled. I wouldn't realize until later that _Dad _and _laughter _usually didn't mix, or he meant it in a different way.

"That's the spirit! Now, the first thing you have to learn when facing _any _enemy is this: don't show fear. They'll see it as a weakness."

"But, Daddy! What if it's a big, scary dog?! Or a Twoleg?!" Ivy asked, eyes wide.

"Nobody has dared attack a Twoleg…or, more precisely, none that have survived. They may make it out alive, but more Twolegs come and take him away, and many other of our clan members too."

"Oh…"

"I think we should start training. We'll start with dogs, because they're stupid." Ivy giggled. We spent the rest of the day learning how to fight dogs.

"Hi, Scourge!" a voice suddenly exclaimed. My littermates and I immediately ran to the gray and white she-cat in front of us. She smiled warmly, her blue eyes twinkling, before padding up to Scourge and nuzzling into his fur. As she licked his muzzle, he purred.

"Hi, Fang! Was hunting alright?" he asked. She nodded towards the pile of food near the den, which were some boxes near a large dumpster. There was a small box of chicken, a bit of bread, some birds, and a few mice.

"You're asking _me,_ the _best _hunter in the _whole clan_, if hunting was alright?" she said, her voice tinted with sarcastic disbelief "I had to fight for that chicken, but I won, of course."

"Mm…" Dad purred, his mouth watering as he looked at the chicken "I haven't had chicken since the kits were born…"

"You weren't listening at all, were you?" Mom asked. Scourge blinked and looked at her.

"What?" he asked. Mom shook her head.

"May we eat now, Father?" Ivy asked. Scratch was shuffling on his paws. Dad nodded yes.

Immediately, the race began. We all ran for the food, trying to get the best pieces. Usually, Mom or Dad made it there first. But today, I was first! _Me! _

Since I was first, I got the biggest piece of chicken out of the box and prodded off proudly, my prize in my mouth. I easily slid under the dumpster and began to eat. Just moments later, Dad squeezed his way under with the second-largest piece. He smiled at me, and we ate, talking in between mouthfuls.

That'd be one of the last father-son moment I'd ever experience with him.

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Scourge and Bone belong to Erin Hunter

Fang, Scratch, Ivy, and Claw all belong to me.

Ciao for now!


	3. Fate at a Dog's Jaws

2

Fate at a Dogs Jaws

About a moon later, me and my sister weren't racing each other to Dad's den. Our tails dragged against the ground, and tears streamed down our face. We had just seen Mom and Dad fight. Dad had held a dead kit by its scruff in his jaws. Not just any kit; it was Scratch.

This is what had happened just minutes earlier.

* * *

Mom was out hunting. The rest of us were with Dad. We sat on top of the dumpster as cats from all over lined up for _his _advice! Sometimes I can't _wait _until I grow old enough to be so important!

Suddenly, a guard skidded into the den. His blue eyes were wide and frantic, and he was breathing hard.

"Scourge, we need you at the Gathering Place _now!_" the black and white cat exclaimed.

"What is it, Ice?" Dad asked.

"_Huge _dog!"

"What's your point? My _kits_ can beat up a dog, and _you_ can't?"

"_Let me finish! _It's grabbed Fang, and if we get close it bites down harder."

"_How could you let this happen?!_" I cowered as Dad screamed at the guard. Then he leapt down from the dumpster and ran off, the rest of us chasing after him.

When we finally caught up with him, his fur was fluffed until he looked twice as big as normal. That's when I realized that when he looked _twice _the size as normal, he was only the _same _size as any other cat.

"Let her go, and I won't hurt you _too _badly." Dad hissed. The dog just growled.

"What are you gonna do, Daddy?" Ivy asked.

"I'm gonna hope that I can get in close enough without Fang getting hurt." Then, in a black streak, he ran forward and clawed the dog's muzzle. Howling in pain, the black and brown dog let go of Mom, who fell to the ground in a bloody heap. "Fang!"

"C'mon, Mrs. Fang, try to get up and I'll help you get to the Caretakers." Ice's smarter brother, Snake, said. Mom slowly got up and hobbled to the rest of BloodClan. Dad turned around with a cold fury in his eyes. I saw them harden just a bit, until they looked like chips of ice.

"This is the last straw, Dog!" Dad hissed, circling around it. The dog gave an ear-rattling bark and lunged right at him. Dad ducked, and it landed in front of us. I squeaked in terror as it grabbed Scratch, who had been right next to me. Then, I screwed my eyes shut before I heard a sickening crunch of bone. Scratch screamed before he was cut off.

"No!" my father exclaimed. He ran toward us and stopped in front of the dead kit. "Scratch!"

Everyone wailed in grief for the lost kit. The dog unknowingly crept up behind Dad. Suddenly, Dad whirled around and hissed curses at the dog.

"Die already!" he screamed at it. Then he leapt up until he was above the dog's head. The beast growled and reared up on his hind legs to try and reach him. Dad ran his long claws down from the dog's throat to his tail. The dog's eyes widened before it crumpled through the floor. Dad kicked some sand onto it before picking up Scratch's body and walked over to Caretaking. I followed him, with Ivy next to me.

"Fang…" Dad murmured. Mom looked up and gave a squeak.

"No! My kit!" she screamed, running over "How did this happen?!"

"It's all my fault…the dog had lunged at me, and I ducked. The kits were behind me, and before I could react the dog picked him up and…and…" Scourge then began to cry "He broke his neck and his back! There was one last scream before…I'm sorry."

"_How could you let him do it?!_" Mom swiped her claws over Dad's muzzle. Blood spurted out, and he whimpered before running away. At the exit, he turned around with near _hatred _in his eyes.

"You…why couldn't you do that to the dog?! If you had, you wouldn't be here right now and _Scratch would still be ALIVE!_"

* * *

The next morning, Dad didn't even get out of his den. The news about Scratch had spread around the clan. Cats came to offer us gifts. Since Dad didn't want to leave, Ivy and I had to take his place.

Apparently, some cats either hadn't heard or didn't care, and they asked about _their _problems.

"Uh, well, this cat tried to take my mouse, even though it was obviously _my _mouse. And I'm trying to feed a family of _five _and he's single…"

"Well, why don't you try taking the mice _too _your family as soon as you catch it like our mom does." Ivy suggested. "Now, our brother just died yesterday, so if you're asking for advice, can you please go? We'll answer your questions tomorrow." Some cats slunk out of the alley, and others padded up with mice and other foods. I would take them and give them to Dad, who was in the Dumpster. We had set up in the entrance to the den. Eventually, Dad got up and took the gifts himself. But the family wasn't ever the same without Scratch trying to tell another joke.

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Warriors belongs to Erin Hunter.

I'm thinking the dog was maybe a Doberman or a Rottweiler.

Don't forget to check out my profile!


	4. Dark Sides

Of all the stories I've published so far, this has GOT to be the most popular! But don't forget! Like other authors, I do have a profile that I update often and other stories for you to enjoy.

Anyways, here's the next chapter!

**I do not own Scourge, Snake, Ice, Barely, Ivy or Bone…or BloodClan. I **_**do **_**own Claw, Fang, Ivy and Scratch.**

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3

Dark Sides

A few sunrises later, I realized that everybody's got a dark side. I learned that in two ways.

The first way was while Ivy and I were exploring the territory. We eventually came across Twoleg dens, where a Twoleg kit was sitting down with some sort of box. The voice of a female Twoleg was coming out of it.

Oddly enough, we could understand it.

_Everybody's got a dark side_

_Do you love me?_

_Can you love mine?_

_Nobody's a picture perfect_

_But we're worth it_

_You know that we're worth it_

_Will you love me?_

_Even with my dark side?_

"What's a picture, Ivy?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't really know." She admitted "What do you think she means by a 'dark side'?"

"I don't know. Maybe we'll find out later. Let's keep walking; I wanna see all the territory before the sun sets!"

"Okay! Lets race on it!" then we both ran off, trying to beat each other around the corner.

* * *

A few sunrises later, we did find out what a dark side meant. Nobody told us up front. We just put two and two together. One was Dad. Two was a litter of kits.

We were sitting with Dad in the afternoon sun when Snake came into the den.

"Scourge?"

"Hm?"

"Bone told me to inform you that he has found two kits living together, about fourteen moons old. Which is past the age they have to separate, according to your rules."

"What are their names?"

"Barley and Violet. Ones a white cat with large black spots and amber eyes, and the other is a small, pale orange cat with thin dark orange stripes and white paws."

"Your brother and sister?"

"Yes, sir."

"I think this would be nice. Are you up to a gladiator fight?"

"Always. I'll tell Ice. Do you want us to claim the kits?"

"Yes." With a nod, Snake padded out of the alley.

"What's going on?" Ivy asked.

"A few kits have been breaking the rules I've set out. But tonight, they'll learn the consequences."

* * *

Cats gathered in the Gathering Place to learn the news of the month. Every month, a majority of the clan came to talk to friends and to hear what had happened around the clan that month. Tonight, though, two kits were surrounded by guards.

The group immediately fell silent when father leaped onto a nearby dumpster, and then the roof of a small abandoned twoleg nest. Everyone had to crane their necks to look at him. I knew he got that far up just because it made him feel more respected.

"This month has been…interesting. At the beginning of it, I got news of five whole litters of kits being born. Due to this, I sent some cats to find any other stashes of food we may have missed before or forgotten about. Eventually, they did find one…but then a dog found the same stash. As my wife went to the stash one day to bring food home to _my _kits, the dog attacked. I was reported of this incident and set out immediately with my best guards, and my kits in attempt to show them how to fight. As some of you may have heard, I killed it, but there was a casualty. My son Scratch was in the wrong place and the dog broke his-" Dad's voice cracked and he had to stop talking for a second. "He'll be missed."

"Many of you came to my den the next day bearing gifts. My remaining kits collected them for me until sun-high, when I came out myself and let them cool off. I'd like to thank you for the gifts; it was very kind of you."

"Finally, just this morning, my close friend Bone found two 'kits' living together in a bush. They are about fourteen moons old; two moons older than when they are supposed to separate. I know their mother, and I know she told them very clearly that they must leave each other. But now, due to their insolence, their own siblings shall separate them for good." The two kits' eyes widened in shock and fear at Dad's words. Then the black and white male took a protective stance in front of his sister.

"Please, Scourge, there must be some other punishment you can give us!" he said.

"Barley, there are _plenty _of punishments I could give you. But what better punishment is there than to watch your sister die right in front of your eyes? At the paws of your brothers, no less?"

"Scourge, _please! _Let me take her place instead, at least?"

"May the battle begin." At Dad's command, the two guards, who had been circling the kits, sprang on the light female tabby. She tried to fight back, but she was soon impossible to see in the mass of black and white fur.

"Violet!" Barley exclaimed in anguish. Then to the two guards, he shouted "You're her brothers! Why are you doing this?!"

"Because they are loyal members of BloodClan. They actually _follow _the rules. You and your…now _very _bloody sister…have disobeyed my orders." Scourge said, his eyes glinting from the top of the building. "If only you had followed the rules…then your sister wouldn't have to suffer. Poor Barley."

"She's dead, sir." Ice announced as he and Snake backed away. Violet had been reduced to nothing but a mangled mass of blood and fur. Barley gagged.

So did I.

"Perfect. Meeting dismissed." At Dad's words, all the cats except Barley and Violet left. I last saw Barley mourning for his sister. I noticed his ears prick up before I went around a corner.

* * *

"How _could _you?!" my sister hissed.

"How could I _what?_" my father asked. We were back in the alley, and Ivy had blown up _all over_ the place once we had gotten there.

"How could you make Snake and Ice kill that kit?!"

"Those two kits had broken the rules, and needed to be taught a lesson."

"But Violet _can't_ be taught a lesson if she's _dead!_ Ever thought about _that?! _And _another _thing! Claw and I are eight moons old! What are you going to do when we turn _twelve_ moons old?! _Separate _us?!"

"Yes…it's only fair."

"And if you find us living together?! What are you going to do then?! Get Snake and Ice to slaughter us?! Kill us _yourself?!"_

"It's what would have to be done. You don't understand. Just because you're my kits doesn't mean you can escape punishment." The weird thing was that while my sister was screaming at him, Dad had a calm air around him. Like he wasn't fazed at all by Ivy's words.

"I know _that, _but _still-_!"

"She's right, Scourge." Mom said, padding up next to him and sitting down with her tail curled around her paws. "Your punishments _are_ a bit harsh. And those kits had a caring mother and a loving father who must have been torn apart when you made them kill each other." For once, Scourge looked a little guilty.

"I guess you're all right…I'll lighten up the rules a bit." He said.

"Okay…I _guess _I can forgive you." Ivy finally said after a moment's hesitation. I didn't say anything for the rest of the night. Something told me that Ivy and Scourge still didn't see eye to eye.

* * *

"I'm running away." My sister said a few days later.

"_What?! Why?!"_ I exclaimed.

"_Shh!_ Do you _want _Dad to hear?!"

"If it keeps you here, then _yes! _I don't _want _you to leave!" I wailed.

"I know, Claw. If I leave, you'll be the only kit left. But I can't stay here." Ivy sat down and pressed her fur against mine. I looked into her bright green eyes sadly. "BloodClan just isn't the place for me. Maybe we'll see each other again one day. I'm really sorry."

"_Please _don't leave!" I whimpered as she got up.

"I'm sorry, Claw." She looked at me sadly one more time, turned tail, and ran out the alley and down the sidewalk. Rain started to drizzle down, which covered up my tears as I watched her run.

She never looked back.

* * *

Still don't own Warriors or any characters mentioned in any of those books (Like Scourge).

I do own Claw, Ivy, Scratch, and Fang!

Oh, yeah! And I don't own the song Dark Side. It belongs to Kelly Clarkson. I thought it was Demi Lavato at first...weird.

Speaking of songs, I know cats shouldn't be able to understand the human language, but hey! This is fanfiction! Plus, this ties into the plot of the story later.

~~Adios~~


	5. It Started With A Hot Dog

Alright! Here's the fourth chapter! I almost named it 'Unimaginable Gore', so it's gonna be pretty bloody. This is what happens when you bully someone coming down from _Scourge's _family line!

Enjoy, and I do _not _own Warriors. If I did, then there'd probably be a fifth series extension. What it'd be about…no clue, but there'd be one.

* * *

4

It Started With A Hot Dog…

Dad was devastated when Ivy didn't come back home. He sent out search parties, and after awhile he even looked himself. But it was all in vain. Ivy had hidden herself well, and the rain had washed her scent-trail away.

She was gone.

So now I was the only kit left. Due to the way my siblings 'died' (For some cats were sure she got hit by a Monster or something), I was always under the watchful eye of my family, Bone and Brick, or Snake and Ice. Even when I wanted to be alone, I knew I wasn't. Even when I left to _make dirt_, I knew somebody was watching from the shadows. That's _not_ a good thought.

But other than the stalkers, I was also learning how to rule BloodClan, since I was next in line. I needed to know how to be a 'good' ruler so that when _Dad_ died (Which wouldn't happen anytime soon, hopefully. _Long live the king!_) then _I_ would be ready to take his place.

Thus meaning, right after I completed all my fighting lessons, my father immediately switched over to Leadership.

"Other than fighting anything or anyone that threatens your rule, you will also need to lay down the law. I have previously made some rules that _must _be kept for success. One: the ruling family must be treated with _respect. _Two: mothers will have to train their own kits and once they grow twelve moons old, then force them to separate. Three: once an area has been marked as Special Territory, no other cat may use it without our permission. Whether it's a food stash, a hunting area, or whatever. Four: nobody shall taunt the runt of _any _litter. No matter how small, that kit still has feelings. Five: anything or anyone threatening the peace of the clan must be reported and dealt with immediately. Whether it's a dog, a rouge that things they own the world, or one of the members of the clan itself."

"You mean I might have to kill other cats?!" I exclaimed. Killing a dog was fine with me, even though I hadn't done it yet. But killing my _own kind?!_

"Only if they are threatening your rules or breaking the laws." My father said. I breathed a sigh of relief. "You may send a guard to do it, but you'll earn more respect if you do it yourself. Nobody wants a leader afraid to sharpen his claws on flesh."

"Oh…"

* * *

Pretty soon, Dad was taking me to his battles with dogs and rouges. We worked together, but I would always let him have the killing blow. I was too scared to.

Either way, I eventually earned my reinforced claws. Already, my front paws glittered as I moved. Now, I almost had as much respect as my father.

_Almost._

There was one cat who insisted on taunting me. He would say things such as how I could never be as good of a leader as my father, or that I'm too soft and might as well leave to become a kittypet 'like my sister'. He would say it behind my back or in my face.

So then I tried telling Dad.

"Dad, there's someone bullying me." I said as I walked into the alley one day.

"So? What's your point?" he responded, looking up from an abandoned bowl of ramen noodles.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I thought you would care. I'll just find Mom or Brick." I growled, turning around to leave the alley. I felt hurt now.

"Wait." My father ordered. I immediately stopped and turned around, since Dad had some _major _temperamental problems. "It's not that I don't care. But this is a perfect time to prove yourself. The clan won't respect a cat too scared to shed the blood of his enemies. I'm not saying you have to _kill _him; just give him a couple of wounds to remember you by."

"…okay! Thanks, Dad!"

* * *

A few days later, anger got the best of me. Terror, the cat who had been taunting me, wasn't going to eat another hot dog.

Did I say hot dog? Here's how this all got started.

* * *

I was looking for some food that a Twoleg may have dropped when I saw the perfect meal. A few half-eaten hot dogs just lying on the empty sidewalk. Surprised that nobody had claimed this delicacy, I rushed towards it. But right when I reached it, someone swiped it up. I glared up at the cats who had taken them.

Of course there was Terror, a black cat with darker stripes and amber eyes. He was the main one messing with me. His posse consisted of two other cats, who are actually pretty decent until he comes by. There's Concrete, a silver tabby with soft blue eyes, and Skye, a timid grayish-blue cat with deep blue eyes. Even his paw pads were blue.

"Hey, you saw that I was going to get that!" I shouted. Terror just rolled his eyes.

"I would've thought _you_ of _all_ cats should know better than that. After all, you _are_ the _only _son of our ruler. You had siblings, right? Scratch, who got killed by an idiotic dog, and Ivy, who ran away to become a _fat, lazy kittypet_."

"Why, _you…!_" I growled.

"Oh, shut your whining! It's a dog-eat-dog world out here, away from Mommy and Daddy's paws. You wanna get food on your own; try running _faster _next time." Then the black tabby started stuffing his mouth with the food _I _had found.

"Terror, he saw it first! At least let him have _some _of it!" Concrete said, glancing at me. I think she might have a crush on me; who knows.

"Y-y-yeah! H-h-his Dad's Sc-Sc-Scourge!" Skye said, eyes darting back and forth between me and Terror.

"Alright, if you say so…" Terror said, eyes glinting. Then he stuffed a paw into his throat.

"What the-?!" I exclaimed, backing away quickly. Concrete jumped into the air, screeched, and hid behind a trash can. Skye ran back there with her.

Before we knew it, an icky puddle covered the sidewalk in front of our paws. I bet you can guess what he did.

"Are you crazy?!"

"You said you wanted some. Eat it." The cat taunted.

"Terror, I didn't mean it _that _way!" Concrete complained, peeking out from behind the trashcan.

"You're an _idiot _if you think I'll eat that!You've ruined the hot dogs now!" I complained. Sure enough, the hot dogs were coated in throw up.

"You wanted them so badly; _you _eat them."

"It's _your _throw-up! _You _eat it!"

"Oh, but it's steaming hot now. The son of our ruler deserves it! Right, guys?" Terror brought the attention back to the two cats behind the trashcan, who rapidly shook their heads no. "_Right?!" _the cats' eyes widened and they said yes. Once again; decent cats under peer pressure.

"You disgust me."

"Shut up, shrimp-fry!" Terror used his paws to try and push my muzzle towards the now horrible-smelling hot dogs.

I was fighting hard to control my anger now. First, he took _my_ food. Then, he made fun of my siblings. After that, he barfed all over the food, thus making it inedible for _anyone. _Now, he had just called me a _shrimp-fry_, and was pushing me closer and closer to a steaming puddle of his lunch. Sure, I had inherited more than just my looks from my father. All my siblings had been a bit small. Plus, he was older than me. But _still!_

"Alright, listen up, Terror, and listen closely." I growled as menacingly as I could, pushing him off of me. "I can put up with you stealing my food. You've broken two rules by insulting my family and I. spewing hot dogs all over the place and trying to make me eat it was pretty disgusting. But nobody, and I mean _nobody, _calls me a shrimp-fry."

"Whatever, shrimp-fry."

"Stop it!"

"_Make _me! You haven't even killed a mouse before!" Terror knew he was exaggerating at that point. I'd killed plenty of mice, but _he _always _stole _them from me!

"You want _force?! I'll _make you shut up _permanently!_" I didn't notice the crowd of cats slowly forming and surrounding us. I just watched Terror as he unsheathed his claws. He had only two dog teeth on just one paw, while mine glittered in the sunset.

We waited for the other to make the first move. I didn't have to wait long, either. Terror came barreling at me, and for a while I froze as…well, _terror _filled me. Before I could move, he banged into my shoulder, sending me flying into a nearby wall. As soon as I landed, he was on top of me, ready to lunge at my throat.

Good thing _I _lunged _first._

I craned my neck up and bit into his throat as hard as I could. He tried to shake me off, but I held on tight. Soon his movements got slower, and that's when I let go. He wasn't at the death point yet, and I didn't want him to be _yet. _Oh, _no. _I wanted him to die _very _slowly.

So I had to patiently wait until he got back to his old lumbering self. As I sat there with my tail tucked around my paws, I heard the cheering behind me.

"Finish him off!"

"Kill him slowly!"

"Get up already!"

"You can do it!"

"That's my son!"

Wait, _what?!_

I turned around and saw my father standing somewhere in the first row. I could have sworn his eyes were gleaming with pride. I guess he had been patrolling the territory to make sure everything was alright when he saw the crowd and came over. Now he was encouraging me.

I smiled his way and turned around to face Terror. The dark tabby seemed fully functional, and was giving me the death glare as he realized none of the cheers were for him. But, with the wounds he had, it looked more like a 'zombie glare'.

"Fine; you win." The crowd grew silent and began to disperse as they realized the fight was over and nobody was going to die. "But you'd better watch your back, pip-"

"What do you mean? This fight is _far _from _over_." I said, making him freeze. Time seemed to stop. All the cats in the crowd froze and ran over at my proclamation. Even I hesitated.

Was I the only one that noticed the new icy chill my voice had gotten, making me sound almost _just _like Dad?

"You said it before; it's a dog-eat-dog world. Either you kill, or you get killed. How I didn't see that before…" I rolled my eyes "I'm not sure. But I do know that only one of us is gonna leave this rink _alive. _Whether it's you or me isn't completely clear. It depends on who has the best fighting skills, and who has the most claws…oh, _wait._" I held up my glittering paw to show it off.

"That would be _me._"

I ran at him, and knocked him to his side with a swipe to his shoulder. He looked at me with horror as _I _towered over _him _for once. His eyes were filled with terror. Ironic, isn't it?

Then came the screams of agony as I selected a two-clawed toe to slowly tear him open from the throat to the tip of his tail. His eyes screwed shut in pain as he begged me to just kill him already so he'd die quickly. But I just sat there and watched the black tabby writhe and twitch, breathing hard and ragged breaths, showing _no mercy. _The puddle of steamy hot blood pooled around my paws…and the hot dogs we had fought over just _minutes _ago.

"Oh, wont you look at that. You've ruined the hot dogs…_again!_" I said right before his eyes glazed over and the twitching in his tail stopped. There was a white, bubbling foam at his mouth, already turning a light shade of red like my front paws.

A feeling of wild adrenaline coursed through me. I finally understood why Dad killed. The roars of the crowd made me understand why he watched the unimaginable gore with pleasure glinting in his eyes and a purr tearing at his throat. Usually, he licked the blood of those he killed. So I decided to keep the tradition going.

As I licked a crimson paw, I suddenly froze.

Unimaginable gore.

Crazed adrenaline.

The roar of the crowd slowly falling silent in confusion.

The look of true horror on my friends' faces as they stared at Terror's body.

The body.

Everything was starting to blur. My head began to spin. I remember hearing a blood-curdling scream before everything went black and I fell to the floor.

* * *

All of that over some hot dogs. Cats nowadays…!

I tried mixing in some humor here! I hope you mind-laughed at the very least!

This is the first gory scene I've ever written that I can think of, so it might not be the best you've ever read…but I'm 12 years old, what do you expect?

I still don't own Warriors, but I own Claw, Terror, Fang (Claw's mother), Concrete, and Skye.

Adios, and don't forget to check out my profile!


	6. Meeting The Family

**Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I completely forgot to update! Sad thing is, I don't really have an excuse. I just completely forgot about this story because I started a couple of other stories, most notably 'Daring Scourge' and 'Ask The Warriors'.**

**Anyways, now we introduce Socks and Ruby! Yes, I own the manga and yes, I know Scourge kinda-sorta kicks them out ASAP, but I wanted to linger on this for awhile. I made them believe in StarClan just to add an argument…I don't think I know any atheists, though.**

**I'll just shut up and let you read this. I don't own Warriors, but I own Fang, Claw, Flora, and Maple (an alteration of my fan-character, Maple Leaf).**

* * *

5

Meeting The Family

After Mom found out that I killed Terror, I thought that she would be proud that I earned some respect in the clan. But she was actually mad and even _ashamed _of me. But why? I had finally done the things Dad taught me.

Once she finally finished yelling at me, she turned on Scourge. Of course, he wasn't even expecting it; he had been sitting behind her, looking as confused as I was.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'teaching our son bad things'?! I'm teaching him how to survive!" he exclaimed.

"You know as well as I do that you don't have to kill to survive! I know that your siblings were hard on you, but you don't have to teach our son to take revenge by-" my mother countered.

"You have siblings?!" I asked in surprise. He had never told me about them!

"Yes, Claw, I did. And they were _not fun._" He growled.

"Why didn't you like them? What did they do?" I asked. Dad's eyes grew a little misty, and he stopped talking. He was just staring right through me like I was a piece of glass. It was kind of freaky.

Eventually, he blinked and shook his head. His eyes cleared as he finally said "Lots of stuff."

* * *

A few days later, Dad was eating a box of chicken and I was gnawing away at the last of a chicken leg. When I heard the tapping of claws on the pavement, I glanced up to see a calico cat wearing a red collar standing in the den entrance. Her nervous green eyes flitted around as she spoke.

"Hi, Scourge. A few cats are here to see you." She said. Now I remember her! She was one of the new guards!

"Thanks, Maple. Bring them here." Scourge said. The calico dipped her head before leaving. "It's probably just a few more cats with issues."

"Can I help?" I asked.

"Sure." Then two cats walked in the alley. They were scrawny and weak; skinner than our own warriors. One of them was a gray she-cat with a reddish tinge and blue eyes. The other was a black tom with a white muzzle, paws, and tail tip, also with blue eyes. They both looked a little like Dad.

Speaking of Dad, his eyes looked like they would fall out of his head. For awhile, they just stared at each other. I looked back and forth at them, wondering who would make the first move.

These. Cats. Were. _Huge!_ They towered over Dad and I like we were blades of grass! Obviously, if a fight did break out, it'd be hard to predict who'd win.

"_Tiny!_" they exclaimed in joy. Dad narrowed his eyes at them.

"That is no longer my name. I am now known as Scourge." He said with a soft growl.

"…_Scourge!_" they shouted again, nearly knocking him over.

"Will you _please _stop knocking me over?!"

"Scourge? What's wrong?" the reddish-gray one asked in concern.

"You're _humiliating _me in front of my _son!_"

"You have a mate?!"

"Yes…that's what happens when you leave the house and _grow up_."

"Dad?" I asked quietly "Who are they?"

"You mean Scourge never told you about us?!" the black and white one asked in shock. I just shook my head.

"…Claw, these are your aunt and uncle; Socks and Ruby." Scourge replied.

"Scourge? Who's there?" my Mom asked, her voice floating down the alley.

"My brother and sister!" a few seconds later, Fang came down the hall with a mouse in her jaws. Socks got a nosebleed, and Scourge turned around and glared at him. "Hey! That's _my _mate!"

"You mean to tell me that _you _got a mate before _I _did?!"

"Yeah! Because all _you _care about are play fights and how much _bigger_ you are than me!"

"Well, you're a pipsqueak!" Dad suddenly screwed his eyes shut. You could feel the tension in the air as Dad got angrier and angrier. Once he opened his eyes, they were icy chips.

"Uh-oh…" I murmured, beginning to back away. Usually, when this happened, Scourge clawed the fur of the cat closest to him. I preferred to have a full pelt.

"You've just made a _big _mistake, Socks." He hissed as he unsheathed his claws. Socks eyes widened…and then he began to laugh.

"Yeah, _whatever! _You cant hurt me!" he scoffed. Dad looked surprised.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean?"

"_You _don't know how to fight. But _we _can!"

"News flash; I'm the ruler of this clan! Just because _you _two were Mom's favorites and she gave _you _more training than she ever gave _me, _it doesn't mean that I cant fight!" Dad shouted "I've killed _dogs _and even other _cats _if I have to! I bet you two haven't even shed a _drop _of blood in your _stupid _kittypet lives!"

"Well, that doesn't mean we can't start now!" Socks countered. Ruby stepped in between the two cats to prevent a fight from breaking out.

"Guys, _stop arguing! _Scourge, at least _I _understand that you rule Twolegplace now. That's why we came to ask for help. And Socks, you _know _you got declawed moons ago!" she said. Dad froze in shock…and then he began to laugh really hard. He laughed so hard that he fell to the floor and started rolling around.

"_Declawed?! _And you think you can fight _me?! _Oh, this is priceless! This is too much! Ahahahahaha! You two are hilarious!" he said before he started laughing again.

"Dad, what does 'declawed' mean?" I asked.

"It's when you go to the Cutter and get your claws taken out so you cant hurt anybody."

"What's a Cutter?"

"Some Twoleg that kittypets go to. They 'take care of them' and 'make them better'. Apparently, Socks went not too long ago!" then Dad began to laugh some more.

"Oh, shut up about it already!" Socks leapt on top of Dad, who immediately swiped at his shoulder. "StarClan's kits, that hurts!"

"You _still _believe in StarClan? You guys are pitiful. And, of course it's gonna hurt! _You _got _declawed _while _I _got _reclawed! _You like?" Scourge held up his paws, and the dog teeth on it glistened in the light. Socks and Ruby stared in shock and fear.

"_How _in StarClan did you do that?!" Ruby asked.

"What's StarClan?" I asked. It had been mentioned a bit, and I wanted to know what it was. Apparently, Dad didn't like it, though. He rolled his eyes at my question.

"Nothing _important; _just a load of kittales." The two cats gasped in horror.

"You're an _atheist?!_"

"I'm a what?"

"An atheist! You don't believe in StarClan!"

"You say that like it's a _bad _thing!"

"_It is!_"

"_Really? _I _don't _believe in StarClan, and I have my _own _clan, not to mention _tons _of food to eat. You two _do _believe in StarClan, and where has it gotten you?" when the two cats didn't say anything, Dad smirked. "I thought so."

"Scourge…" Mom said.

"Yeah?"

"At least respect their religion _while they're here._"

"Hmph, _fine! _What's that mouse for?"

"I just happened to catch it on the way here. Would your siblings like something to eat?"

"Uh…"

"Yes, please." Ruby said. Sock's nose just started bleeding again. Ruby whacked him upside the head with a paw.

"Alright, just don't eat all the food."

* * *

"…and you ate all the food." We were staring at a litter of chicken bones and a couple of mouse skeletons. They were bleached white, and bare "You ate all the meat off of it!"

"Don't worry about it!" I said with confidence "I'll go get more!"

"Can we come too?" Ruby asked.

"Sure!" I padded out of the alley with the two cats following not too far behind.

Once we got to the middle of the territory, I began to hear pawsteps. My ears pricked as I heard two voices.

"Claw!" a voice exclaimed. I turned around to see Concrete and Skye running towards me.

"Hey, guys!" I greeted. Concrete walked in a circle around me, her fur brushing mine. She had definitely taken a liking to me, and I must admit that I liked her too.

"How has your day been?" she asked with a purr.

"Good! Oh, guys, these are my aunt and uncle; Socks and Ruby."

"F-f-for a second I th-th-thought that they were B-B-Bone and B-B-Brick!" Skye stammered.

"I must admit, they do look alike…but they smell odd. Where did they come from?" Concrete asked.

"They used to be kittypets, but something happened and they came here." I replied.

"Our Twolegs abandoned us…" Socks murmured, shuffling his paws.

"So what was our leader like when he was a kit?" Concrete wondered, blue eyes sparkling in curiosity.

"…he was really small, for one thing. And he didn't like Twolegs too much. But he loved the little bell on his collar…I wonder where it went?" Ruby said.

"Dad used to tell me that a tiger's paw attacked him and tried to claw him until another cat with blue fur saved him…so now he likes cats with blue fur." I answered, remembering the stories he used to tell me.

"Th-That's a relief!" Skye exclaimed.

"Oh…" Socks murmured.

"…I've gotta go; we ran out of food at dinner." I said.

"Well, Scourge hasn't been feeding five cats in a long time, and he probably wasn't expecting guests…I'll see you tomorrow at the Clan Meeting!" Concrete said, waving her tail as she walked away.

"W-Wait for me!" Skye called out, running after the silver tabby.

"See you guys!" I exclaimed. Then I padded away with Socks and Ruby. We talked for awhile, and I must say they were nice cats.

Once we arrived at a good hunting spot, I turned to them. I expected them to immediately run off to try and scent a mouse. But no, they just looked at me expectantly. After awhile, I put two and two together.

"You guys don't know how to hunt, do you?" I asked.

"We were never taught." Ruby explained "And Socks got declawed…"

"Well, unless you want a very bloody mouse, you don't even need claws. Just teeth."

"Oh, okay! Please teach us!" for the next few minutes, I taught the two how to hunt the best I could, and we managed to catch a few mice and birds for dinner.

* * *

"So, what's Scourge like now?" Ruby asked on the way back.

"Well, he's a good ruler…but he's not exactly an expert on kits. I had a brother and a sister, but they're both gone." I replied.

"What do you mean?" Socks inquired.

"…well, life's pretty dangerous here. Not exactly the best place for curious kits to be running around, disobeying older cats. But that's kinda what he lets us do. It's a miracle I wasn't hit by a car…but, while Dad was fighting a dog, my brother Scratch was in the wrong place at the wrong time. When Dad leaped out of the way of an attack, the dog grabbed him and snapped his neck. A few moons later, Dad found out that a few cats had been breaking the rules, and he had to kill him. My sister couldn't take it and ran away."

"Oh…"

* * *

Once we got back home, Scourge was asleep. His tiny pink nose twitched at the scent of food, but he didn't wake up.

"What's with the collars everyone around here has?" Socks asked in curiosity.

"…Dad told me that when he first came here, a few cats made fun of him for being a kittypet. Eventually, he found a dog tooth an old dog had dropped, and he tried to use it to take off his collar, but it ripped through and got stuck. When the others asked him about it, he said he killed the dog and took it as a trophy, which earned him some respect…but now he really _does _kill the dogs he wears on his collar."

"What about that bird skull in the middle?"

"Oh, that's just there for style."

"Claw?" Fang asked as she padded in "Wow, what a catch! Did you get all that yourself?"

"No; I taught Socks and Ruby how to hunt!"

"Oh, really? That's nice of you!" Fang turned to look at Scourge, who was now on his back, snoring. She prodded him with a paw as she said "Scourge, wake up!"

"…five more minutes…" he moaned, turning his back to her.

"There's food…!"

"Where?!" Dad woke up with a jolt, sniffing the air. Once he smelled the prey, he smiled. Mom smirked a little.

"Works _every _time." She said to Ruby.

"Does anybody mind if I invite Bone and Brick over for dinner?"

"Yay!" I exclaimed in happiness "I'll go get them!" I bounded out of our section of the alley and ran to Bone's den, where he and his mate Flora were play-fighting. Bone _did _look like Socks a little, except his eyes were green and the bottom part of his muzzle was black, making it look like he had a beard. Flora was a tortoiseshell cat with leaf-green eyes; she and Leaf were loosely related.

"Excuse me." I said. Bone and Flora froze mid-swipe and turned to look at me.

"Oh, hi, Claw. Does Scourge need me?" Bone asked.

"Well, he wants to invite you guys over for dinner; we have a bit of extra prey, since i=his siblings came over." I replied.

"Alright! I'll go get Brick!" Bone ran out of the den, and I chased after him. Flora poked her hear out of the den, watching us run.

"Toms…" I heard her murmur. Bone just kept running and stopped a little bit farther down the alley.

"Yo, Brick! We've been invited to dinner at Scourge's place!" he called out.,

"Be there in a second!" I heard a voice exclaim. A few seconds later, Brick came out of her den, her red-tinged fur glossy and smoothed. "Sorry, I was grooming myself."

"Good for you." Bone said sarcastically. I stuck my tongue out in disgust.

"Too much information! I just got this weird image in my head…ew!"

"_Sorry!_" Brick said, rolling her eyes. Her eyes were a pale yellow. We walked back to Flora, and began the trek back to Dad's den.

"So, what happened to the two guests that Leaf told me about?" Bone asked.

"Turns out, they're Dad's littermates! They're names are Socks and Ruby, and they kind of look like you and Brick!" I said.

"Really, now? Do they _act _like us, too?" Brick asked sarcastically.

"Not at all! Sock's been declawed, and neither one of them knew how to hunt until I taught them!"

"How does a cat _not _know how to hunt?!" Bone exclaimed in disbelief.

"Remember, Scourge was a kittypet before he came here." Flora stated.

"Good point." By that time, we were back in my father's section of the alley. We went around the corner to the entrance…and came face-to-face with a humongous argument.

"For the _last time, _we were just thanking StarClan for our food! And blessing it, so it's not dangerous!" Ruby snapped at Scourge.

"Oh, yes, that makes _perfect _sense! Lets thank a bunch of stars for the life of an idiotic mouse! 'Oh, StarClan! Can you _pretty please _make sure this mouse isn't dangerous by using your magical star-power?' Yeah, like _that'll _matter! It's fresh-kill, not crow food!"

"Now that you've offended them, they just might fill it with maggots!" Socks said.

"Fresh-kill? As in 'just killed less than five minutes ago' fresh? Yeah, right!"

"Uh…hi?" Bone said hesitantly. Everyone turned around to look at us.

"Oh! I didn't know you guys were here! Anyways, these are my idiotic, star-gazing siblings, Socks and Ruby."

"_Hey!_" the two exclaimed.

"Socks and Ruby, these are my co-rulers, Bone and Brick…and Bone's mate, Flora!"

"…hello…" Brick said, eyes flitting between the siblings like panicked butterflies. For once, Bone actually looked nervous to be in a den. Flora studied her paws, and I took a sudden interest in my white-tipped tail. You could feel the tension in the room, like lightning threatening to strike at any moment. Scourge and his siblings constantly shot glares at each other as we sat down to eat dinner.

'_This is going to be such a _fun _visit!' _I thought to myself, not really meaning it as I nibbled timidly at a bird.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this, and I'll try to update this ASAP! Next chapter, Scourge'll probably kick out his 'idiotic siblings'. At the end of the intro to this chapter, I almost made Scourge say 'terrible things' instead of 'not fun', but then I realized that Socks and Ruby weren't exactly trying to kill him; they were just jerks. Siblings fight, right (I'd know).**

**I still don't own Warriors, but I own Claw, Fang, Maple, and Flora. BTW, I imagine Scourge looking like the way flightfootwarrior/XxflightfeathersxX/reaper-neko draws him, which is where I got the bird-skull reference from.**

**Adios, amigos!**


	7. Get Out!

**Aw, crap; I keep on forgetting to update this thing!**

**But, anyways, I've checked out Warriors Book 6 from the Library, so in the next chapter…it's gonna be connected to that. For two out of the next three chapters, I'm gonna make this a wee bit more cannon; and I think you know what I mean with that.**

**I'll shut up and let you read this.**

* * *

6

Get Out!

Trees were flying past me as I ran through the forest. Bushes whizzed past me, and my feet barely touched the ground. Everything was wonderful and new; the scents of mice and even rabbits reached my nose as they scurried around like there was no tomorrow (If I had been hunting, there probably wouldn't be one for them).

As I thought about how wonderful the forest was, the yowl of battle reached my ears. Screeching to a halt, I pinpointed its location and headed towards it. Maybe I'd find some entertainment. But once I found it, I stifled a gasp.

Tons of cats writhed around, locked in battle. Pelts merged into one another a cat tackled cat. It was all happening in a clearing surrounded by these four _gigantic _trees, with a rock somewhere near the middle of it. Seeing the battle wasn't shocking; but the fact that I actually _recognized _some of the cats fighting was the scary part.

Was that Bone being buried under a mass of cats, screeching so loudly that any cat a mile away could have heard it? And Mom furiously attacking a gray cat with a dark stripe on his back? That looked like Skye and Concrete teaming up against a cat with only _one eye_. But where was Dad?

Then I finally saw him. He was staring at the body of an orange cat, who was twitching pitifully before falling still. Behind him, a pure-white cat (Well, except for a few blood-stains) stood frozen, his blue eyes wide in shock. As the attack raged on, I was the only one who noticed the orange cat's eyes begin to glow with a white light…and then he got back up! But _surely _he was dead just a minute ago!

The orange-pelted cat turned to face Dad with a yowl I couldn't hear. Scourge froze, and turned around in horror as he noticed the zombie behind him. They exchanged words before the black cat leapt.

The battle was fierce. Tooth against claw, but nearly no blood. But the orange cat decided to use a bit of trickery to win. Just as suddenly as he started fighting, he bowed down in surrender. Dad thought he won, so he ran at him, ready to kill. At the last second, though, the orange cat leaped up and crashed into Dad's stomach, knocking him down. Clawing at his fur, the cat then sunk his teeth deep into my father's throat.

Of course, Dad fought back viciously, but he couldn't get free. After what felt like hours, Dad got noticeably weaker. Only then did the orange cat drop him. He raised his paw for a death blow, but the deed was already done. Dad gave one last jerk before he was still forever.

"No…_no! Daddy!_' I wailed, backing away in fear with my ears pinned against my head. Dad _couldn't _be dead, he just _couldn't!_

Before long, my clanmates saw my Dad's body and retreated hastily. There was no point in fighting; my Dad was dead, and all seemed to be lost. I could only watch as the forest cats chased us away…then I heard this _voice _in my head.

"The fate of your future is uncertain, but your father's is sure. He will die in three moons time." It said.

* * *

I woke up with a jolt. Immediately, I realized that the forest was gone; the gray walls of the den rose above me and reached for the sky. Dad was sleeping peacefully nearby. So that meant it _was _just a dream…but it felt so _real!_

I noticed Socks washing himself nearby. He glanced up at me once he saw that I was awake. "You're up early," he stated.

"…I had a bad dream." I admitted. He stood up and padded over to me.

"What was it about?"

"Well, I was running through this forest when I saw this _humongous _battle going on between BloodClan and a bunch of forest cats. Bone was being attacked, and Mom was fighting this gray cat. Dad had killed an orange cat, and went to attack a white one when the orange cat just _got up, _kinda like it was sleeping the whole time! Dad had to fight _that _cat again…but he lost. While the rest of BloodClan retreated, I heard this voice in my head. It said 'The fate of your future is uncertain, but your father's is sure. He will die in three moons time.' But I don't _want _my Dad to die in three moons!"

"…have you ever heard of StarClan?" Socks asked. I shook my head no.

"Not until yesterday…"

"Lets go for a walk. Just you and me." The black and white cat got up and headed towards the den entrance. I leapt to my feet and followed him out. Once we were a little ways from Dad's ears, he began to talk.

"StarClan is a group of ancient cats who watch over the friends they left behind. Sometimes, they'll send prophecies to certain cats, telling them of their future or giving them advice on what they should do. Claw, I think your dream was a prophecy from StarClan."

"…but I thought StarClan wasn't real!"

"That's what your father believes. But StarClan is _very _real, and what they have to say is very important."

"…can you tell me more?"

"Well, Starclan is where good cats who believe go when they die. There's an unlimited amount of prey there, and it's always spring. The cats who go there watch over those they left behind, guiding them."

"And I got a prophecy telling me that Dad's going to die?"

"…yes. Who's next in line for ruling?"

"Me."

"Then that would be-"

"But I don't know if I can do it." Socks froze in shock, and turned to me.

"As long as you do what you believe is right, you'll be an excellent ruler."

"If you say so…I think we should hunt. I mean, if we come home without anything, Dad might get suspicious. He wouldn't mind as much if we bring breakfast."

"Good point. Lets go to that hunting spot you showed Ruby and I."

"…race you there!" I exclaimed, bolting off. Socks just stood there in shock for a while, then shouted "Wait for me!" and bounded after me.

* * *

When we got back from the hunting spot, there was a long line of cats snaking out of the den. Immediately, I groaned.

"Why?!" I wailed. Then I calmed down a bit and turned to Socks "This is how I spend my mornings…" I stated. Then we muscled our way through the cats. Almost immediately, the cats moved aside; probably because they thought Socks was Bone.

"So, we don't eat breakfast yet?" the black-and-white cat asked.

"Nope! I've gotta help Dad solve these cat's problems."

"Oh…need help?"

"Nah, I've got this." At that note, I jumped onto a stack of boxes, so that I was above all the cats on the ground "_Hey! _Half of you guys gotta move to the right for counseling!" almost immediately, a mass of cats gathered below me. Some stared at Socks. "What? You got a problem with my uncle? Now, who wants to go first?" a cat stepped forward and began talking. I sat down and listened as intently as I could.

* * *

"It's finally _over!_" I groaned, getting off my boxes as the last cat left. "Dad, how do you deal with it?!"

"_Oh, _believe me! It wasn't even _half _as easy before _you _came along!" Scourge stated, leaping off the dumpster.

"So you just sit here, answering cat's questions all morning?" Ruby asked, stretching.

"Every day!" I said.

"Sometimes it goes on until the afternoon." Fang grumbled "But, at least we can eat now!"

"Yay! Food!" Scourge exclaimed, running over to the pile of food collected by Socks and I, mixed in with some other food Mom and Ruby found.

"So, is life in BloodClan hard?" Socks asked.

"Well, it isn't called 'BloodClan' for nothing! Seriously, take a hint!" Scourge said, taking a bite off a mouse.

"…how'd you _become _the leader of BloodClan?" Ruby asked

"Well, after _you _told me that unwanted kits were thrown in the river-"

"W-W-Wait, what?!" I exclaimed.

"I'm sorry I ever said that to you, Scourge." Ruby murmured. Scourge looked at her with a glare of distrust before continuing.

"Well, I ran away to avoid that fate. Once I reached the forest, a group of wildcats attacked me. So I ran away from _there-_"

"Mom was devastated when you didn't come back." Socks stated.

"Why? She never loved me."

"Yes, she did! _We _were never her favorites; _you _were!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Then why did she let you two bully me?!"

"Jealousy go the best of us! Mom told us to stop it so many times I lost track!"

"Say what you want; you know she never loved me." Scourge growled, prowling out of the den "I'm going for a walk; don't come after me or I'll slit your throats."

"_Scourge!_" mom called after him. But he was already gone, and Mom didn't dare to follow him; when Dad's mad, he takes it out on anyone.

"…so you guys bullied Dad when he was younger?" I asked. Socks and Ruby guiltily nodded their heads.

"But our mother really did love him. She wouldn't get out of the bed for a week after he left." Ruby said.

"Hey, Socks?"

"Hm?"

"You said that StarClan's supposed to guide the cats, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you think Dad stopped believing in them because of all the things that happened to him when he was a kit? Like, maybe he thought that StarClan wouldn't let you guys mess with him so much, or let the Tiger's Paw attack him?"

"…it's possible."

* * *

Once the sun went down, we all walked to the Gathering Place for a meeting. Dad had just come back from his walk about a minute before we left.

When we arrived, we were some of the first people there. Others were Skye, Concrete, and their families. I realized that we (Skye, Concrete, and I) were nine moons old; we only had three more moons until we had to leave our parents.

I pushed that thought to the back of my mind and cheerfully padded over to my friends. Concrete greeted me with a purr, and Skye smiled a little.

"You brought Socks and Ruby?" Concrete asked with a whisper "Are they staying for good?"

"I'm not sure. You see, Dad and them don't exactly see eye-to-eye on certain things." I replied.

"Well, I _hope _they can! They seem really nice!"

"They are!"

"So, how was The Royal Answering session?" Skye asked with a tease.

"Oh, nothing short of exhaust—hey, you stopped stuttering!"

"I have? I've been working on it for a while…"

"Little Skye just passed his first milestone!" Concrete purred. Skye began to blush.

"Just in time, too; I was about to start calling you Shy instead of Skye!" I added, nudging the blue cat.

"Hey!" he whined, nudging me back. Soon we were having a nudge-fight.

"So, what are we gonna do once the next three moons are up?" Concrete asked, interrupting our nudge-fight.

"You know what, I was just thinking about that." I said.

"I guess we'll have to leave our parents soon…but _we _aren't related by blood! Do you think it'd be alright with your Dad if we all lived together? Y'know, sleeping together and sharing the same den?" Skye asked, turning back to me.

"I guess as long as I don't tick him off in the next three moons, and none of us screw with his rules…_or him_…the I think we're good! In fact, since I'll have to be leader sooner or later, you guys can stay with me in the Royal Den!"

"_Sweet! _This is gonna be _awesome! _And no more Terror to mess with any of us!" Skye cheered.

"Glad I got rid of him _now _instead of _later!_" we all giggled.

"He _totally _screwed up those hot dogs last week!" Concrete laughed.

"They looked so _gross!_" Skye agreed. "Hey, did anything else happen this month? Other than Terror and the rest of your family?"

"Hm, let me think…two more litters of kits, we got a new guard, and there was another food-store found."

"Attention, everyone!" a voice exclaimed.

"Socks, what are you doing?! It's _my _job to announce stuff, not yours!" Scourge hissed.

"Some of you may not know me or my sister Ruby, but we are-"

"Shut it!"

"—Scourge's-"

"I will claw your throat out if you don't shut up!"

"…littermates!" Socks then backed away from Scourge's 'death glare'.

"Get out." The black cat ordered. Immediately, everyone fell silent. You could hear a pin drop, it was so quiet. "Both of you."

"But—But, _Scourge!_ We're your _littermates! _Doesn't blood mean _anything _to you?" Ruby whimpered. Scourge smiled maliciously. In the back of the crowd, someone shouted "Speech! Speech!"

"Oh, blood means _everything _to me. But the only blood _I'm_ interested in flows from my enemies. Look around you! These cats are _bathed _in blood! It soaks their paws and laps at their fur! Claw and Fang, my innocent mate and kit? _They've_ killed cats, too! _This _is why we survive! We are _BloodClan!_" a loud cheer rose from the crowd, but Skye, Concrete, Mom, and I stayed silent. "Bone, Brick; get these two cats out of my sight!" Dad called. Then he turned back to his siblings "If _either _of you are seen _anywhere _in BloodClan territory by sunrise tomorrow morning, I will hunt you down and kill you myself!"

"Yes, Scourge." Bone and Brick said, nudging their 'twins' aside and leading them to the edge of the territory. Bone's nudge was a lot rougher than Brick's, I noticed.

Once the four cats were gone, Scourge turned to the audience. "If any of you see Socks _or _Ruby anywhere _near _our territory, capture them _both _and bring them to me. And do _not _mistake them for Bone and Brick!" Scourge hissed. As his ruffled fur slowly flattened, he said "Anyways, we have a new guard of BloodClan named Leaf." Scourge gestured towards Leaf, who was sitting shyly in a corner. She looked twice as nervous as I've ever seen her; and it wasn't because all eyes were on her.

"Excuse me, Scourge, but I'm a bit worried. Will I be exiled for bringing your siblings too you?" she asked.

"No; you didn't know they were my littermates." Leaf sighed, and sat a bit straighter. "Also, we have two more litters of kits."

"Congratulations!" a cat purred in the crowd. Dad's face gave everybody a laugh.

"What?! Not Fang and I!" everyone laughed harder, then calmed down. "There's two more litters of kits _in the clan, _and we found another food store on the northern edge of the territory. That's all the news for today." Then Dad leaped off the building and padded around the crowd of cats towards me. For the next few minutes, everybody talked casually.

"So, have you two thought about what you're going to do in three moons?" Scourge asked Concrete and Skye.

"Actually, we were just wondering if we could share dens with Claw when he becomes leader." Skye said.

"It's okay with me if it's okay with Claw." At that, we all cheered loudly; loud enough for the rest of the clan to turn around and wonder what happened.

* * *

"Was it really necessary to kick them out, though?" Mom asked. All my parents had talked about on the way home was Socks and Ruby. "Just because he told the rest of the clan that you were siblings?"

"Well, grudges from the past, plus the fact that they came uninvited and ate all our food, the fact that I was getting sick of them preaching their starClan crap, _and _the fact that socks overran the Meeting made me drive them out."

"Alright, but were the death threats really necessary?

"No; it just makes people run away instead of walk."

"I kinda miss them." I murmured.

"Well, get used to it, 'cause they're never coming back." Scourge said. Under his breath, I heard him mutter "Screw them and their stupid StarClan."

* * *

**I don't own Warriors, or any characters used except Concrete, Skye, Claw, Leaf, and Fang…and Terror, since he was mentioned.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll try to update more often, I swear!**


	8. A Proposition

**Yeah, I did it! And without 'The Rise of Scourge' manga, too! I had checked out 'The Darkest Hour' from the library, but then I lost my comic. I was looking for it for a while, then decided to start writing again before I have to turn this book again.**

**So, Tigerstar shows up. Scourge is mad. Claw is just there. Where's his mom? Claw's growing up, so she's becoming a minor character, kinda-sorta.**

**I'm gonna shut up and let you read.**

* * *

7

A Proposition

About a week after Socks and Ruby left, one of Dad's dreams came true…partially. As for _my _dream? You know, the scary one? It was looming closer and closer.

So, what happened, exactly? The Tiger's Paw came.

You see, a few moons ago, a cat named Boulder decided that BloodClan was 'too dangerous' and 'never had enough food to go around'. He was actually a rather dramatic and greedy cat, and spoke with a British accent. Not just that, but he was also rebellious. So before Dad could drive him out, he announced that he was leaving BloodClan to 'find a better life' in the forest. Dad encouraged it. He told Boulder that any cat who didn't appreciate that they were _alive _and fighting for food should leave. But later, he had told Ivy and I that he found him snooty and annoying.

But today, he came back, and decided to bring a guest with him.

* * *

Rain was pouring down, pooling in puddles at our paws. The reflection of harsh orange streetlights rippled in puddles. Cats were searching for dry food in the other dumpsters that Twolegs used.

Dad and I were eating under the shelter of a doorframe. For awhile, the only sounds we heard was the rain pounding on roofs and cats padding through the territory. Then, all was quiet. The air nearly stilled as every cat nearby stopped moving. Although muddled by water, the scent of trees rose in the air. A new cat had arrived, apparently.

Scourge and I poked our heads around the den. At the same time, Bone stepped in front of the new arrivals, blocking our view. I heard his voice loud and clear in the otherwise dead silence.

"Identify yourselves." He ordered "We don't like strangers here."

"Greetings, Bone. Remember me?" a snooty British accent said. Immediately, I scowled.

"…so you've come back, have you, Boulder?" Bone spat. Yes, Boulder was back; and just when I thought I'd never see his sorry tail again! "You told us you were going to find a 'better life' in the forest. What are you doing _here?_"

With the soft sound of claws unsheathing, Bone said "We want to see Scourge."

'Boulder's trying to play tough guy again! He doesn't stand a _chance _against Bone!' I thought with a snicker. Meanwhile, Bone snorted in contempt and laughter.

"I can't imagine that Scourge will want to see _you_. And who's this with you? I don't recognize _him._"

"My name is Tigerstar. I've come from the forest to speak with your leader." A deep voice growled.

We just listened to them talking. Apparently, Boulder and the mystery cat were pretty desperate to see Scourge. His eyes narrowed at the thought.

Then they came. One was Boulder, but the other I didn't recognize. But I think Dad recognized him, for his eyes just narrowed even more, and there was even a _growl _added to it. Dad only growled when he was annoyed, angry, or in psycho-killer mode.

The tabby's eyes scanned the clearing, and skipped right over us. Boulder nudged him and jerked his head towards us. "There's Scourge…and is son."

"_That's _Scourge?!" the tabby exclaimed in disbelief. I already knew the routine; guests get stared down and entrance to our den. Bone stops them halfway to see what they want, and the guests think that the leader's _gotta _be bigger and badder than him…and then they see us. "He's no bigger than an apprentice!"

"_Sh!_" Boulder hissed. I didn't miss the flash of panic in his eyes. "This may not be a Clan as we know it, but these cats would _kill _if their leader ordered them to."

"It seems I have visitors." Dad hissed. His voice sounded icy; his guard was up now. "I wasn't expecting to see _you _again, Boulder. I thought you left to live in the forest."

"Yes, Scourge, I have." Boulder replied, crouching into a submissive pose.

"So what are you doing here?!" Scourge snapped "Have you changed your mind and come crawling back? Do you expect me to _welcome _you?!"

"No, Scourge." Boulder seemed to remember himself and sat up, holding my father's gaze defiantly. "It's a good life in the forest. There's plenty of fresh-kill, no Twolegs—"

"You haven't come to extol the virtues of forest life, have you? _Squirrels _live in trees, _not cats._" Dad flicked his tail, and Boulder decided it'd be best to shut up. "So what do you want?"

At this point, the tabby boldly stepped forward, shoving Boulder aside. "I am Tigerstar, leader of ShadowClan," he growled "And I have a proposition for you."

Scourge turned to him only later would I realize that Dad had almost completely _ignored _the tabby until he had spoken up. He _definitely _had something against this cat; he was just being subtle with it.

"So Boulder dragged you over here? Alright, what do you have to offer?"

"I have a few enemies in the forest."

"How many?" I asked. Scourge gave me a stern glare that clearly said 'This is business; watch and learn' before turning back around.

"ThunderClan, WindClan, and RiverClan." Tigerstar listed. Scourge and I turned to each other, a bit shocked at 1) how many different clans there were and 2) that this guy wasn't on good terms with _any _of them.

"…alright." Dad finally replied.

"I have come up with a plan to get rid of ThunderClan. I have found a pack of dogs a little ways into their territory. I will train them to kill ThunderClan."

"That's a very…_interesting _plan."

"Indeed. Once I get rid of ThunderClan, then I shall send Boulder back over to take you to the forest. I understand that you are expert killers; I would like you to kill the other Clans for me."

"What's in it for us?" I blurted out. Scourge gave me a dirty look, and I decided to shut up.

"Although you have a good point, Claw," he growled "Please stop blurting things out. This is business."

"I was getting to that, either way." The tabby said impatiently. "Once we kill the other Clans, we'll be the only clans in the forest. We shall split the territories amongst ourselves…evenly."

"Hm…Claw, what do you think?" Scourge asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's tempting, but how do we know this cat isn't lying? He might make us kill the other Clans, and then kill _us _so he can have all the territory for himself." I said "I don't trust him."

"What your son says is not true. I will split the territories evenly and fairly." Tigerstar said.

"…well, Twoleg place _is _a big place, but it isn't big _enough_. We have many cats here, and not enough prey and dens for all of them." Dad stated. Then he turned to Tigerstar and said "I accept your offer, but don't try any funny stuff." The tabby dipped his head in thanks.

"I shall get started as soon as possible."

"Um…Tigerstar? With all due respect, I think we should go. The dogs you mentioned wont be there forever, and the sooner ThunderClan is dead, the better." Boulder stammered.

"What's the rush?" Tigerstar asked. But he let himself be lead out of the alley. Before he left, he turned to Dad "Cute kid." Then he turned around and left.

I began to blush, but Dad's eyes narrowed and followed the two cats out. "I haven't forgotten you, Tigerpaw." I heard him mutter "But I see that the time for us to settle our…_differences _has not come yet. But I can be patient."

"That was the Tiger's Paw?" I asked, shocked. I recognized the similarities between Tigerstar and the story Dad told me. Big tabby, amber eyes, long claws…but I had never thought he'd come back.

"Yes, it is. He thought changing his name would make me mistake him for someone else. He was _wrong._"

"…so you _don't _trust him?"

"I trust him to lead himself to his death…at _my _claws."

* * *

Later that moon, Dad mentioned the meeting at the Gathering. He got all the other cats excited about a battle that would come soon, a fight for new territory. I even saw Skye smirking a bit, his claws sliding in and out. Concrete, on the other hand, looked a bit nervous. I don't think she ever fought _anyone _before, and she was probably worrying about that matter. _I, _for one, was indifferent on this subject. Dad had told me that Tigerstar would lead himself to his doom, but he also mentioned a battle coming soon. Would this be the battle that I saw in my dreams? Will Dad lead himself to _his _death?

Only time will tell, I guess. But if I was right, then all I wanted now was for time to stop.

* * *

**Alright! So, some random questions are being answered right now. If you want to ask me a question, just review! Please reviewed.**

**A random question some of you may be wondering; why did Claw get a dream from StarClan? Because I felt like it. Socks and Ruby know about StarClan since Jake was curious about the Clans, he probably found out about it and told Quince, who told her kits.**

**Alright, gotta go to church. Adios!**


	9. Territory Tour

**Alright, I finally managed to update this! Sorry about how long it took, but I had to use the book to find the locations, some lines, and other stuff. Plus, school. You know how that feels.**

**Anyways, here's the next chapter. I don't own Scourge, Bone, Tigerstar, Boulder, Firestar, Thornpaw, or Mousefur.**

* * *

8

Territory Tour

A moon later, I was hunting along the edge of the territory, in a Twoleg park. I was doing a terrible job, because I was still freaking out about my Twelfth Moon being in less than a moon. I knew where I could go live, but I still didn't want to leave my mom and dad just yet.

So now I was chasing a rabbit, just about to pounce, when I crashed into a wall of gray fur.

"Get off of me!" I shouted. The cat got off just in time for me to see the plump rabbit escape into a bush. "You idiot! That was a _perfectly _good rabbit, and you made me _lose _it!"

"I-I'm deeply sorry, Sir Claw! Please don't kill me! I'm sorry!" the cat wailed, probably scaring away all the prey nearby in the process. As soon as I heard that dramatic British accent, I realized who it was.

"Oh, hey, Boulder." I said, licking my paw in boredom. I began to study my claws as I added "What do you want?"

"Tigerstar sent me over to get your father. He's ready to show you the available territory."

"Really? C'mon, I'll take you to Dad." With a sweep of my tail, I led the gray cat through the territory until we reached our den.

"Dad! That Tiger-guy's ready to show us some dirt!" I shouted as I walked in. I was expecting Dad to come out with that hungry glint in his eye, ready to pick out a new den. All I ended up doing was jolt Mom out of her sleep.

"Claw?" she said, stretching.

"I woke you up? Sorry about that. Do you happen to know where Dad is? Boulder says that Tigerstar's ready to show us the territory."

"Hm…he stopped by Bone's den." Mom sighed a little.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Nothing,"

"You sigh like that when you're upset."

"…how did you know that?"

"Child's intuition…and Dad told me when you were mad about that cat stealing our food."

"Ah…well, I can still remember when you were a little kitten, with your brother and sister. You've grown up so fast, Claw, and I'm proud of everything you've done. But I'm still worried about losing you in this battle your father keeps talking about."

"Oh, Mom…don't worry about me. You won't lose me; if anything, we have to worry about Dad in this battle."

"But-but your father—he's a killing _machine!_" Boulder exclaimed in disbelief.

"Well, the 'killing machine' is getting old. Plus…he's getting old." I said. I was about to tell them about my dream, but they'd either never believe me, or freak out.

"Anyways, your father should be in Bone's den, right?"

"Yeah; I guess we should get going." The two of us walked out of the den, leaving Mom to lay back down and nap some more.

Meanwhile, at Bone's den, I was greeted by Flora. She lead Boulder and I to a small area, where a dumpster was between two buildings, like ours. Dad and Bone were having a training session. Scourge was on top of the black and white cat, who looked winded.

"Had you been the enemy, you'd be dead. Tighten up; you don't know _who _you'll be facing in this next battle." He said.

"How…how did you do that?" Bone gasped.

"Easy. The bigger they come, the harder they fall."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You have thick muscles, which add to your weight. The bigger they come, the harder they fall."

"Um…hi, Dad." I said. The two cats turned around to see us.

"Boulder. Claw." Dad greeted. "Is it time?"

"Tigerstar has gotten rid of the bulk of ThunderClan, and wants you and your closest cats to come scout the territory, see what you want." The gray cat replied.

"Excellent. Bone, we'll leave in a moment. Claw, go get your mother; you two are coming with us."

"Okay!" I bounded away to our den, where Mom was napping away. I was actually kinda afraid to wake her up.

Why? Because Mom had a terrible habit of trying to claw your paw off in her sleep if you so much as _touched _her. She even nicked Dad's ear when he leaned against her in _his _sleep. You know how people say 'I could do that in my sleep'? Mom could say 'I could kill you in my sleep' and actually mean it.

But somebody had to wake her up. And as Boulder walked up behind me, I knew exactly who would do it.

"Hey, Boulder? I'm gonna get a quick mouse; can you wake up Mom?" I asked him. Before he could say anything in objection, I added "Thanks a lot; I owe you one." And went over to the fresh-kill pile to get a mouse.

"But I…fine." As I 'ate a mouse', I watched Boulder unsheathe his claws and poke Mom with one of them out the corner of my eye. Almost immediately, that claw was a whisker away from getting torn off. The gray cat screeched and backed away in fear as Mom suddenly sprang to life in her sleep and tried to claw his head off.

"Claw, you set me up!" he exclaimed. I decided that, since I did owe him something, I'd help him out; plus, if Mom killed him, we'd never get any more new territory.

"Alright, alright, hang on." I said, running over. By the time I got there, though, Mom had woken up.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Uh…you kinda-sorta attacked Boulder in your sleep."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"…it's alright, Miss Fang." Bone murmured, licking his rising fur flat.

"So, did you speak to your father?"

"Yeah! You, Bone, Dad, and I are all going to the forest to scout the territory Tigerstar wants to split between us!" I said.

"Alright. Lets get going." At that, the three of us went back to Bone's den. He and Dad were both ready to leave, so we let Boulder lead the way.

* * *

"Greetings, Scourge." Tigerstar said as we arrived at the edge of the forest. We had walked through the outskirts of the territory, where Twolegs lived in neatly-lined dens. The tabby dipped his head respectively towards Bone.

"Uh…I'm Bone." The black-and-white cat said.

"My apologies. Greetings, Scourge." Tigerstar turned and dipped his head towards Dad.

"Hello, Tigerstar. You called us here to look at territory, correct?" he responded, a mischievous glint in his eyes. it was the same glint he got whenever he was about to strike the killing blow on his latest victim. What, exactly, was he thinking?

"Correct. I see you brought some other cats with you."

"Was I not supposed to?"

"Well, a few members of ThunderClan survived the dog attack. They're _very _territorial, and it would be harder to move through their territory inconspicuously with such a large group. Nevertheless, we'll work it out."

"In a few days, they won't have any territory to be territorial over,"

"Yes, yes, of course…" for awhile, we all just sat there, while Tigerstar looked at his paws. After a minute or so, my Dad began to get impatient.

"The territory."

"What about it?"

"You're showing it to us,"

"Oh, right! Follow me!" the large tabby disappeared into the bushes. Dad shook his head disdainfully and followed him. Bone snickered until he got a nasty glare from Mom.

'Stupid forest cat. Can't stay focused for seven seconds!' I thought as I slid through the bushes. 'He's all _muscles _and no _brain_! We have a really stupid tour guide.'

"So, this is ThunderClan territory." Tigerstar said, turning to us.

"I recognize this place." Dad growled under his breath "I was attacked here, when I was a kit. There were three cats who claimed to be ThunderClan. One of them attacked me."

"Well, you'll get your revenge on those cats, if they happen to be the ones that happen to be left."

"Oh, I know I will." Tigerstar continued to lead us through the territory. This cat really _was _stupid! He didn't even realize that Scourge was talking about _him! _Well, Dad hadn't said 'tabby cat named Tigerpaw', either, but who would forget attacking a kit?!

The tabby led us through the forest, occasionally hiding under bushes. Sunlight dappled on the ground, gleaming through the green leaves. We moved quickly and silently through the forest, as we walked on each other's pawsteps. Soon we stopped at a clearing filled with rocks and sand.

"This is Snakerocks." Tigerstar announced.

"Snakerocks? ThunderClan lives amongst _snakes?_" Scourge asked, a bit surprised.

"What's a snake?" I asked.

"…it's like a rope, but it's an animal and can kill a cat as small as you."

"Like that thing?" I asked, gesturing towards a pale rope-ish thing that was flicking it's forked tongue out.

"Adder!" Tigerstar hissed, backing away.

"Claw, back away slowly." Dad ordered in a voice that seemed calm, but had a trace of fear behind it.

"_Eeeek! _Kill it, kill it, kill it!" Mom screeched. I hesitated; everyone was acting like this was a do-or-die situation (except Bone, who was just as confused as I was). But was something _this _tiny thing _really _deadly, or just scary?

'Don't think like that,' I thought 'My father and I are perfect examples that small is lethal. Maybe this snake fits the title, too.' So I quickly killed it with a nip to it's head.

"Well, now I see why it's called 'Snakerocks'." Dad muttered.

"Quick! Hide!" Tigerstar hissed. Without thinking about it, we all ran after him and into a place where the ground got muddy and stinky. And just in time.

"Right, Thornpaw," I heard a voice say "What can you smell?" there was a moment's silence until—

"Fox." Another voice announced "It's stale, though…two days old, I'd guess. Squirrel. And…just a trace of dog." Another moment of silence.

"Anything else?" the first voice asked.

"The ThunderPath, and there's something…Firestar, I don't understand. I think I can smell cats, but its not the scent of any of the Clans. It's coming from over there. What do you think?"

"Uh-oh." Tigerstar muttered.

"What?" Scourge asked.

"That little twerp scented us. Quick; roll in this, and then climb up that tree. It'll disguise our scent." I did as I was told, along with the rest of us (although, my mother was a bit reluctant to do so).

"Let's take a look. And be careful; it might only be a lost kittypet, but you can never tell." The first voice murmured. As we climbed up the tree, the same strange scent that was on Tigerstar and Boulder was steadily getting stronger, and not just because they were pressed against me. "Rouges or loners, three of them, I'd guess. And the scent is fresh. We must have just missed them."

'Lucky we walked on top of each other's tracks; they think there's only _three _of us instead of _six!_' I thought. Scourge chuckled as if we were thinking the same thing.

"But what are they doing on our territory?" the second voice asked.

"Oh, we're just taking a tour before we kill your friends and family," Dad muttered sarcastically.

"Are they Tigerstar's rouges?"

"Nah, they're all at home. This is just BloodClan; your worst nightmare." Tigerstar replied sarcastically.

"No, Tigerstar's rouges took on ShadowClan scent moons ago. This must be a new lot." A third voice stated.

"Well, aren't you a smart little kitty? I might actually make your death quick and painless, just for that little bit of knowledge in your cloud-filled head."

"As for what they're doing, I'd like to know that, too. Lets follow them. Thornpaw, you lead."

After a minute or two, a golden tabby with an overly dramatic serious look on his face advanced towards the marsh, his nose nearly sniffing up dirt ad he tried to find us. Behind him was an orange tom with green eyes, and a dusky brown she-cat. At the end of the bog, they stopped.

"I cant smell it anymore. I'm sorry, Firestar." The golden tabby said sadly, his ears drooping.

"It's not your fault; if the scent's gone, it's gone." The flame-colored cat replied, gazing towards our tree. "I'll tell the patrol to keep a lookout, but hopefully there's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about, my _butt!_" I hissed quietly "Just wait until you see what's coming for you!"

"That was well scented, Thornpaw. Lets head back to camp; we've got a warriors ceremony to arrange." At that, the three cats turned around and left the way they had come.

Once we were sure they were gone, we clambered down the tree. Scourge cleaned his fur a bit, Fang cleaned her fur _a lot, _and we continued out tour.

* * *

Later, when we came back home, we discussed the trip. The territory seemed to be big enough for everyone, and even fit more cats. Plus, if we ran out of space there, we could always move some cats into the city again. So, we decided that we would come back when we were called for.

Scourge's death was set in stone.

* * *

**There you go! A nice update for your Christmas Break! Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas, and a partridge in a pear tree!**

**AKA, bye-bye. Have fun.**


	10. Dad Gets Even

**Alright, sorry about the longish wait for this. But now I have a 19-page chapter for you to enjoy! Authors note at the bottom!**

9

Dad Gets Even

About a whole moon or so later, Boulder randomly walked into the den, quiet as a dead mouse, at dinner time and sat there. No warning, no scratching on the wall to let us know he was there like all the other cats in BloodClan did, no 'I'm here to bring you to battle!'. Absolutely nothing. He just walked in like he owned the place, looking around like he was an owl.

Dad was the first to notice him. He leapt to his paws and shouted "Dude, have you ever heard of letting somebody know when you walk into their den?!"

"How long have you been in here?!" I exclaimed, a bit surprised. Just a few minutes ago, we had been talking about how annoying and stupid Boulder and Tigerstar were. If he had been in here five minutes ago, he would have head every word!

"I just came in here a few seconds ago, sir," Boulder murmured, gazing at the stack of boxes.

"Very well; what6 do you want, then?" Dad asked.

"Tigerstar's ready to kill the other Clans."

"Aw, but their blood's gonna get all over my new territory!" Scourge fake-whined. He was smirking, and had that malicious glint in his eyes.

"Ah, but surely, the rain will wash it all away eventually?"

"Oh, yes; I almost forgot,"

"Scourge, do we _have _to talk about blood while we're eating?" Mom pleaded.

"Why not? We're drinking it right now; it's all over your face." Dad said, gesturing towards Mom's muzzle, which was soaked in blood from the bird she was eating.

"Ugh; I hate it when you're right."

"Well, we'll gather the Clan after I finish eating, Boulder. Now go away."

"Of course, sir. Sorry to disrupt you, sir." Boulder apologized.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

A few minutes later, Dad sent Bone, Flora, and I to spread the word about the upcoming battle. All we had to do was tell three cats each, and they told three cats each, until the news was spreading like wildfire. Before long, all the Clan's best fighters were gathered around the den. Scourge was pacing inside, mumbling incoherently to himself. Bone was in there with him. I could hear snatches of words, and it sounded like they were talking about battle plans.

"So if we come in from the left…" Dad muttered.

"Yes, but what if they ambush us from all directions?" Bone countered.

"True that…perhaps we should—"

"Dad? Bone?" I said warily. Sometimes, surprising Dad and Bone when they're in deep thought is like touching Mom while she's sleeping.

"What the—oh, everyone's here!" Bone said. Dad jumped a little before walking towards the stack if boxes.

"Alright, everyone, listen up!" he called out to the other cats. Everything got quiet. "Today, we go out to battle the other three Clans—"

"Actually, Sir Scourge—" Boulder interrupted.

"What?!"

"Um…RiverClan got smart and decided to join Tigerstar's cause. Now all we have to do is kill ThunderClan and WindClan."

"Oh…well, today we go out to battle the other _two_ Clans. As far as I can tell, they're weak, defenseless idiots. So this will surely be an easy win. Prepare to march." At that note, all the cats filed out of the den. Bone, Scourge, and Boulder went up to the front of the Clan. Well, it was more like 'everyone clears the way for Dad and Bone, and closed in just so that Boulder was stuck somewhere in the middle of everyone'.

When the gray cat finally squirmed his way to the front, Bone muttered "Slowpoke," while Scourge just gave him an annoyed look.

"_Lead the way, Boulder,_" he growled through gritted teeth in a 'next time, you better not keep me waiting or I just may "accidentally" kill you in this battle' tone of voice. Boulder flinched a bit before leading us to the forest.

Along the way, I made my way to where Skye and Concrete were walking. We chatted about stuff like parents, leadership issues, and how stupid the forest cats were until we noticed that we were in the Forest. My two friends were awestruck. I guess the first time I had been here, I'd wondered how a tree could possibly get as big as the ones here without the Twolegs noticing and slicing it down. Maybe they left this forest for some reason. Perhaps they were scared of the forest cats.

'Twolegs,' I thought 'I'll never understand them.'

Boulder lead us right into a small clearing near RiverClan territory. Nearby was a large waterfall whose waters were moving so fast spray flew into our faces.

"I'm finding another spot," Scourge muttered as his neatly-groomed fur fluffed up as he tried to keep warm.

"Tigerstar said he'll meet us here, though!" Boulder objected. Just as Scourge got up to leave, Tigerstar and two other cats that looked like guards seemed to almost form out of the mist. One of the cats was a sleek, golden-spotted tabby with thin ears, round, dark-amber eyes and a long tail. The other was a muscular, sleek-yet-bulky, humongous, white tom with dark ears, jet-black paws with six toes on the front feet, amber eyes, and a long tail.

"Greetings, Scourge." Tigerstar said with an ever-so-subtle bow of the head in my direction. Dad snickered, Skye nearly broke out laughing, Concrete let loose a fit of giggles, and I blushed a bit. Now _I _was being mistaken for Dad? He must have remembered the white paws and blue eyes.

"Um…wrong cat," I stated.

"Oops…greetings, Scourge!" Tigerstar turned and bowed to Bone instead.

'Now we're back to normal…' I thought.

"Wrong cat…_again!_" Bone shouted impatiently.

"Oh…which one of you guys is Scourge again?" the white cat with the black paws started giggling, and the leopard-spotted one rolled her eyes and sighed. A glare from Tigerstar made them stop what they were doing.

"_I'm _Scourge, since you can't seem to remember." Dad said, stepping forward. The two guards froze, and then began to laugh hysterically. It was just like what Socks and Ruby did, when Scourge threatened them. "Rrgh…!" sunlight glinted as his claws unsheathed. I had to step in front of him so he wouldn't have a 'muscle spasm' and slit their throats.

"Scourge, my friend, _calm down!"_ Tigerstar said, miraculously finding the right cat (And even then, Dad had given him a hint). "They simply don't understand what you can do!"

"Oh, I don't think _you _can, either," Bone muttered.

"Rrgh…!" Dad growled.

"Well, uh…these are my other two partners; Blackfoot, my deputy," the tabby swept his tail towards the big cat with the black paws "And Leopardstar, the leader of RiverClan and my co-leader."

"G-G-Greetings," the two cats said, trying to hold back their laughter.

"…well, this is my deputy, Bone, my wife, Fang, and my son, and other deputy, Claw." Dad finally said "I believe you have met them before,"

"Yes, of course. We'll go back to camp, to assemble the rest of my warriors, before this battle." At that, the three forest cats turned around and padded off into the mist. Everyone's eyes flitted from Scourge to wherever Tigerstar disappeared off to when my Dad didn't move for a minute. I could tell Dad was fighting the urge to completely ignore the tabby, and go home altogether, because Tigerstar dared ordered him even in the slightest way. Then he shrugged and followed, the rest of us tailing after him.

The RiverClan camp was bustling with activity. Cats were everywhere, doing different things. Some of them were eating, other were tossing half-eaten food into the river. Half of the cats looked miserable. The others were gladly moving on with their day. Weirdest thing was this giant heap of pure-white, sun-bleached prey-bones.

Other than that, it was almost just like back home.

Tigerstar leaped onto the hill of bones, managing to accidentally knock a bone or two onto Bone's head, which I somehow find kind of ironic. Anyways, Leopardstar and Blackfoot sat down on the sides of the hill at Tigerstar called out "All cats of TigerClan, gather beneath the Bonehill for a Clan Meeting!" as the proud tabby lifted his chin high, the cats of the Clans ambled into place. When everyone was there, he continued. "TigerClan has made new allies! The fearsome cats of BloodClan will help those foolish WindClan and ThunderClan cats see that joining together as a single Clan is simply the best option! And if they don't, then we'll kill them all!" all the happy cats in the Clan cheered, which included Blackfoot. The miserable-looking cats gasped and looked like they didn't want to kill anyone anytime soon. Leopardstar didn't look to keen on the idea of attacking the other Clans. But, at the same time, the Bonehill seemed to give her the jitters.

"Why is the Clan so mixed up on killing the other Clans?" I hissed to my friends. Concrete shrugged.

"Didn't Boulder say RiverClan kinda-sorta joined last-minute? They might have just joined to protect themselves, and don't want to hurt the others." Skye suggested.

"Maybe," I agreed.

"Guys, I think everyone's leaving," Concrete said, gesturing towards Scourge and Bone, who were listening to Tigerstar before following him, Scourge waving his tail in a signal. My friends and I tagged along, and before long, the rest of the Clan and a few TigerClan cats followed us. We journeyed through the forest until we were in front of four of the _biggest _trees I had ever seen! I was here last moon, and I was _still _shocked at how big a tree could get if a Twoleg left it alone!

"Scourge, listen up." I heard Tigerstar order. Heads turned as we waited to Scourge's reaction. He did nothing but flick his tail as if he was annoyed. "When Blackfoot gives you the signal, then you're going to come out. Then wait for my signal to attack. Got it?"

"Hmph," Scourge muttered. At that, Tigerstar walked into the center of the trees. As soon as his figure was hidden by the bushes surrounding the trees, Scourge muttered a bad word that shouldn't be repeated.

Before too long, I scented more cats. They smelled like the ThunderClan and WindClan territory.

"Greetings, Tigerstar." I heard a voice say. It was that orange cat from last moon! "Not still looking for those prisoners you lost from RiverClan territory?"

"You'll regret that days work, Firestar!" Tigerstar snarled.

"Try and make me," more TigerClan cats came out of the bushes. Tigerstar stepped forward, his head raised.

"Have you thought about my offer? I'm giving you the choice; Join me now and accept my leadership, or be destroyed."

"We reject your offer. The forest was never meant to be ruled by one Clan. Especially not one lead by a dishonorable murderer."

"Oh, but it will be. With you or without you, Firestar, it will be. By sunset today, the time of the four Clans will be over." Leopardstar's ears pricked, as did everyone else's. Firestar had just called Tigerstar a murderer, and the giant tabby hadn't even defended himself. Scourge's eyes twinkled knowingly.

"The answer is still no. ThunderClan will never submit."

"Nor will WindClan," another voice added.

"Then your courage is only matched by your stupidity," Tigerstar growled. I heard claws unsheathe as TigerClan cats crouched low and prepared for battle. Even some BloodClan cats, me included, got into a fighting stance. Signal or no signal, we wanted to rip some fur. Whose fur didn't matter.

Suddenly, there was a choke.

"Tawnypaw?!" a voice gasped.

"What's she doing there? Tigerstar _did _steal her!" another voice added.

"_Steal _her? No, not at all. Tawnypaw came to us willingly." Tigerstar replied with a purr.

"Tawnypaw! What are you doing? You're a _ThunderClan_ cat—come back to _us!_" the first voice called.

"No, Bramblepaw, _you _come to _us._ Your sister made the right choice. TigerClan will rule over the whole forest, and you can share our power. What do you say? ThunderClan is finished. There is nothing there for you."

"Join you?" Bramblepaw growled. There was a pause, and for a split second I began to think he was as dramatic as the rest of his Clan. Then, louder, he said "Join _you? _After _everything _you've done? I'd rather _die!_"

As murmurs of approval broke out among one side of the clearing, Scourge leaned over to me and hissed "If you ever dare disobey an order by me, I'll claw your pelt off."

"Scourge," Fang murmured, a little ways away from us.

"Are you sure? I won't make the offer twice," Tigerstar hissed. "Join me now, or you _will _die."

"Then at least I'll go to StarClan as a loyal, ThunderClan cat," Bramblepaw retorted.

"No; you'll just die an idiot. Nobody should disrespect their father like that." Scourge muttered.

"Fool! Stay, then, and die with these other fools!" Tigerstar spat. At that note, Blackfoot raised his tail as a signal.

"Finally, this stupid soap opera's over. Enter with the action." Scourge whispered as he raised his tail and lead us out of the bushes with a rustle. He was already kinda mad about being laughed at and ordered already, so looking sinister was no problem for him.

I saw Firestar's eyes widen as we popped out of the bushes like a rabbit out of a hole. More and more of us crept out, and we formed a semicircle around TigerClan. Row after row. We out numbered _everyone else _in the clearing. For on forest fool, there were at least two of us…and then some. Fighting them off wouldn't be a problem.

"Well?" Tigerstar demanded silkily. "Are you still sure you want to stand and fight?"

As was quiet as the last of us came out of our little hiding spot. Every cat was frozen in shock until—

"_Collars?!_" a gray cat with darker flacks spat in disgust. "Look at them; they're _kittypets! _We won't have _any _trouble beating them." I saw Scourge tense at the word 'kittypet' before glaring at the cat with a dirty look.

"Keep quiet until we have the full measure of our enemy." A dark brown tabby tom warned. "We don't know _anything _about these cats yet."

At last, the rest of us finally came through. Bone broke the ranks and stood next to Tigerstar on the tabby's left side. Firestar looked impressed at the daunting size of our 'leader'.

"I knew it," I muttered to Concrete, who was sitting on my right. "We're gonna have another Dad-Bone mix up."

"As usual, and as expected." The silver tabby murmured in agreement as Scourge stalked light-footed from the line to stand next to Tigerstar. Firestar looked a bit confused at his appearance. The orange cat's pelt was on edge, and he looked slightly afraid for someone trying to keep a poker face.

"So, Tigerstar, do you want to tell us who your new friends are" he mewed, his voice barely hiding the fear he really had.

"_This _is BloodClan," Tigerstar announced.

"In the flesh!" Skye said silently.

"They come from Twolegplace. I have brought them to the forest to persuade you foolish cats to join with me. I knew you wouldn't have the sense to agree on your own."

"Remember those rouges we scented the day I was made a warrior?" Thornpaw whispered. "I bet they came from BloodClan."

"You see, Firestar?" Tigerstar said with a slightly-sadistic purr. "I am even more powerful than StarClan, for I have changed the Clans in the forest from four to two. TigerClan and BloodClan will rule together."

"Sure…" Scourge muttered. Bone snickered for a split-second before flicking Scourge with his tail and getting 'serious' again. I think I was the only other person who purred.

Firestar looked horrified at Tigerstar's words. But even so, he quietly answered "No, Tigerstar. If you want to fight, let us fight. StarClan will show us who is more powerful." Like he was trying to keep the tabby sane.

"You mouse-brained _fool!_" Tigeratar spat at him "I was prepared to come here and talk with you today! Just remember that it was _you _who drove us to this. And when your Clan mates are dying around you, they will blame you with their last breath." Then he swung around to face us, his tail managing to slap Bone in the face. Judging by his face, the black and white cat wanted to bite a rather large chunk off the appendage. "BloodClan, _attack!_"

None of us moved, although Bone bared his teeth at the tail. We were waiting for Dad to move first, signal us, repeat the command, _something. _Because BloodClan accepted orders from nobody but him and Bone…and me sometimes. But my orders were passed down from Scourge or Bone. Bone was a bit preoccupied by the swishing tail slapping his face repeatedly, and I knew Dad didn't plan on moving a muscle.

Tigerstar's eyes widened in rage. Again, he screeched "_Attack, I order you!_"

This time, one of us moved; Dad. But not in the way Tigerstar expected. The white-pawed cat took a pace forward and glanced at Firestar. "I am Scourge, the leader of BloodClan," he mewed, his voice suddenly chilling and almost silent. Then he turned to Tigerstar. "Tigerstar, my warriors are not yours to command. They will attack when I tell them, and not before."

Tigerstar gave my father a 'you are so dead!' look. Like he couldn't believe my father was actually standing up to him, even though the tabby was almost literally three times his size. That's when Firestar decided to step forward until he was standing in front of the two leaders. Behind him, a gray cat with a darker stripe on his back (Who I just-so-happened to recognize as the cat that was attacking Mom in my dream) hissed "Firestar, be careful!"

Firestar seemed to get a bit dizzy when the teeth on our collars happened to catch his eye. But then he controlled himself and shot a scorching glance at Tigerstar before calming down. He then dipped his head towards Scourge.

Very loudly, as if my father was an old cat going deaf, he said "Greetings, Scourge. I am Firestar, leader of ThunderClan. I wish I could say you are welcome in the forest. But you would not believe me if I did, and I have no wish to lie to you."

"Then we'll _make _ourselves welcome," I muttered.

"Unlike your supposed ally here, I am a cat of honor." Firestar flicked his tail towards Tigerstar, an awful lot of contempt in the single gesture. "If you believed any promises he made to you, you're mistaken."

"Tigerstar told me he had enemies in the forest. Why should I believe you instead of him?" Scourge said, his eyes chips of ice.

"Oh, burn!" a cat in our clan said.

Firestar, during the meantime, took a ridiculously deep breath before speaking even louder. Scourge's ears twitched in annoyance. "Cats of all Clans, and _especially _cats of BloodClan, you have no need to believe or disbelieve me."

"Great; do I have to listen to this _stupid _speech?" Concrete asked, laying down on her stomach, pressing her ears against her head so she didn't have to listen, and began to pick the dirt from her claws.

"Tigerstar's crimes speak for themselves."

"_You better preach it, pastor!_" a cat from the back of our Clan shouted.

"When he was still a warrior of ThunderClan, he murdered our deputy, Redtail, hoping to be made deputy himself. First Lionheart was chosen as deputy, but when that noble warrior died in a fight with ShadowClan, Tigerstar achieved his ambition at last."

"Good for him!" I muttered sarcastically. The orange cat paused, looking around the clearing. Did he hear me?

"Mew away. Little kittypet. It won't change anything." Tigerstar rumbled.

"Being deputy wasn't enough. Tigerstar wanted to be _leader _of the Clan. He set a trap for Bluestar by the Thunderpath, but my own apprentice strayed into it instead. That's how Cinderpelt came by her crippled leg." All the forest cats murmured amongst each other. Even I felt kind of bad for this Cinderpelt. But only because cripples weren't accepted in our Clan and were either killed or kicked out to survive on their own.

Of course, I wouldn't admit this in front of my friends, so instead I said "Jus wait; it probably gets 'worse'," I said.

"Then Tigerstar conspired with Brokentail, the former leader of ShadowCla, who was ThunderClan's prisoner. He brought a pack of rouges into ThunderClan camp, and tried to murder Bluestar with his own claws."

"Naw, he tried to do it with his own farts!" I saw Bone mutter. Tigerstar slapped his tail in his face, and the bulky cat bit a few tabby hairs off of it.

"I stopped him,"

"The brave and the bold!" Concrete muttered, now licking a paw.

"And when ThunderClan had beaten off the attack we drove him into exile. As a rouge, he slaughtered yet another of our warriors; Runningwind. Then, before we knew what he was up to, he had made himself leader of ShadowClan." The orange cat paused again as his eyes swept the clearing. All the forest cats were horrified. All the BloodClan cats were either entertaining themselves or sleeping. "But Tigerstar wanted revenge on ThunderClan. Three moons ago, a pack of dogs got loose in the forest. Tigerstar caught prey for them, then laid a trail of dead rabbits between the dogs' lair and the ThunderClan camp to lead them to us. He murdered one of our queens, Brindleface, and left her near the camp to give the dogs a taste for cat blood. If we hadn't found out in time to escape, ThunderClan would have been torn to pieces." Scourge's ears pricked.

"Good riddance," Tigerstar growled, rolling his eyes.

"As it was," Firestar was struggling to go on. "Our leader, Bluestar, died the bravest death of any cat, saving me and all her Clan from the pack." He paused, and was greeted by grim silence.

'That was a stupid sacrifice; this Bluestar chick should have saved herself and let this idiot die.' I thought. Meanwhile, Firestar turned to face Dad.

"This is Tigerstar's history. It all shows one thing—that he'll do anything for power. If he promised you a share of the forest, don't believe him. He won't give up a single pawprint; not to you or any cat."

"Is the speech over?" Skye asked groggily, waking up from his short nap.

"Yeah; it's Dad's turn." I murmured.

"Cool; lets see some gore."

Dad's eyes narrowed. He was thinking carefully about the speech he had barely been listening to. Then he said "Tigerstar told me what he was planning to do with the dogs when he visited me two moons ago." The black cat turned towards Tigerstar. "He did not tell me that his plan had failed, however."

"None of that matters now," the tabby said roughly. "We have an agreement with you, Scourge. Fight beside me now, and you'll have all I offered you."

"My Clan and I fight when I choose," Scourge said. Turning to Firestar, he added "I will think about what you have said. There will be no battle today."

Firestar sighed and relaxed a bit, for he had been tense ever since he finished his speech. But Tigerstar's fur bristled with rage and his tail lashed side to side, constantly slapping Bone in the face. He dropped into a crouch. "Traitor!" he screeched.

"Fight! Fight!" I began to chant. As Tigerstar leapt, claws extended, all of BloodClan and TigerClan began to chant. Firestar looked horrified, and actually kinda scared for my Dad's safety. At the same time, though, he looked like he needed to faint.

At the last second Scourge whipped to the side so Tigerstar's claws ripped at the air and not him. When the tabby turned around, Bone was *this* close to killing him on his own for constantly slapping him. Then he decided to let Scourge finish his battle. Whether the deputy knew how personal this fight really was, I don't know.

Anyways, when Tigerstar turned around, Dad's claws glinted in the sun as they scored his shoulder. Firestar was *this* close to fainting for real when he saw our claws.

As he was hit, Tigerstar lost his balance and fell to his side, exposing his belly. Scourge whirled around and ran over.

"He's gonna do a Terror!" I said to Concrete and Skye. They all smirked. Meanwhile, Scourge stabbed his claws into Tigerstar's throat and ripped him neck-to-tail with a single slash.

Tigerstar screamed in fury (Something he seemed to be doing a lot, lately) before choking. He jerked and flailed and fell still. _Then he began to move again. _Scourge lifted an eyebrow and stepped back. The tabby's blood pooled on the ground in an endless stream. As he screamed, Firestar winced and his ears flattened to his head. Then the tabby fell still again. But then he came back to life. His claws tore up clumps of grass in a fenzy, and his screams changed from fury to terror. Firestar's eyes widened in shock.

"He's dying nine times!" a cat from TigerClan wailed. Immediately, horrified yowling arose and several cats pushed past the three in order to escape the clearing in a mad haste.

"Hold the line!" another voice ordered, somewhere amongst the mass of panicking cats. Immediately, some of the cats calmed down.

Firestar was frozen t the spot as Scourge walked over and knelt down by Tigerstar and hissed "I didn't forget, Tigerpaw." Into his ears. The orange cat caught Tigerstar's eyes, which were filled with pain, fear, and hatred before they glazed over, the tabby gave one last jerk, and lay still…and never moved again. He just stared at the body in disbelief before looking up at Dad. He looked unmoved, but I knew that inside he was dancing on Tigerstar's body.

Brick and a few other cats began to move forward in attack, and Firestar glanced back at the rest of his Clan before bracing himself to leap. Then Scourge raised one, blood-soaked paw as a signal to stop. We obeyed immediately.

"You see what happens to cats who defy BloodClan," he warned quietly. "Your friend here thought he could control us. He was wrong." Dad flicked his tail towards the body of Tigerstar.

"We don't want to control you. All we want is to lead our lives in peace. We're sorry that Tigerstar brought you here with lies. Please feel free to hunt before you go home." Firestar rasped.

He was kidding, right? We were taken all the way from Twolegplace, whose center is actually a bit farther away from the forest than he really thought. Cats were starving at home because we relied on Twoleg waste for our food. And he wanted us to _go home _and bring a measly mouse for our families, if we didn't end up eating it along the way because we're just _that hungry?! _

Apparently, Dad was thinking the same thing. His eyes widened in scornful disbelief as he hissed "Go _home? _We're not going anywhere, forest fool! In the town where we come from, there are many, _many _cats, and live prey is scarce. Here in the forest we won't need to depend on _Twoleg rubbish_ for our food." He looked past Firestar and at the leftover cats that were ready for battle.

'Please don't send us to attack,' I finally found myself thinking. If he did, it might end up becoming the battle from my dream, and Scourge might not leave this forest alive.

"We are taking over this territory now. I shall rule the forest as well as the town. But I understand that you may need some time to reflect on this. You have three days to leave—or meet my Clan in battle. I shall wait for your decision at dawn on the fourth day."

Yes! It's a miracle! StarClan was letting me keep my father for another three days…unless the dream was just an over-reactive nightmare and the forest cats decided to turn tail and run away. All I know is that I can protect him, now.

Firestar was speechless as Scourge made his way through us and led us through the bushes and out of the hollow until we were away from the clearing. Then, my father turned to my friends and I.

"Keep an eye on those forest cats. Find out what those other two Clans are planning, then meet up with the rest of us. We'll be attacking the ShadowClan camp so we'll have a place to stay until the rest of the forest is ours. Claw, you remember where their camp is, correct?"

"Yes, sir." I said, dipping my head. I signaled for my friends to follow me back to the clearing.

Before long, we were back in the bushes by Fourtrees. Firestar was talking to a black and white tom with a long, thin tail, powerful shoulders, and amber eyes.

"I can't believe what I've just seen," the black cat said. "Nine lives gone—just like that."

"_Nine lives?_ What does he mean?" Concrete asked in a whisper. "I thought cats only had _one_ life."

"I wouldn't know." I replied.

"No cat would blame you if you took your Clan and left the forest to find another place to live." Firestar said. The black and white cat's fur bristled.

"WindClan was driven from the forest once. _Never again. _Our territory is _ours, _and we'll fight for it." He hissed. "Is ThunderClan with us?"

"He's an idiot," Skye muttered, his claws sliding out of his paws. "He knows he cant win."

"We'll fight," the orange cat said. "And we'll be proud to stand side by side with WindClan."

"That makes _two _idiots!" I said.

"We'll go now to prepare ourselves, and we'll meet you here again in three days, at dawn." The black and white cat said.

"At dawn, and may StarClan be with us all." Firestar murmured.

"StarClan?" Concrete asked.

"Some religion they have. Dad doesn't believe in it. Socks, Ruby, and I do. Don't tell."

"Of course."

"I'm proud of you all. If any cats can drive out BloodClan, _you_ can." Firestar said, now facing his own warriors.

"Or they'll die trying."

"With _you_ to lead us, we'll do _anything_." A pale ginger she-cat said, her muzzle pressed against Firestar's shoulder. Skye pretended to gag.

"Lets go back to camp. We've a lot to do. Graystripe, Cloudtail, scout ahead. I wouldn't put it past Scourge to lay an ambush for us." Firestar said.

"Man, we should totally ambush them!" Skye hissed, turning around to face us with a gleam in his eyes.

"No, we have to follow Dad's orders." I objected.

"Aw, but Dad taught me a surprise attack move a few days ago, and I want to try it out!"

"We're gonna ambush ShadowClan, remember?" I said, nudging him. As the gray cat and the white cat from my dream left the group, Concrete stalked around the bushes after them without me noticing. A few moments later, Firestar and the others began to leave. "Alright, lets go, guys."

"Didn't you send Concrete out?"

"No…where is she?"

"She followed the two cats who left early."

"Oh, dear StarClan. Lets go get her before she gets herself killed." I muttered, skirting the bushes and following the ThunderClan cats. Skye followed behind me.

Not more than a minute later, we ended up bumping into Concrete by the Owl Tree. She smiled sheepishly as I glared at her.

"Concrete, you're supposed to be the sensible one in the group!" I hissed, cuffing her upside the head with a paw. But gently, so my claws wouldn't hurt her.

"Sorry! I couldn't help myself! I wanted to try out my tracking skills…" she said, avoiding my eyes.

"No matter. Lets head on over to ShadowClan territory. We don't want to keep Dad waiting too long; he might start fighting without us."

"Plus, he's still Scourge, after all." Skye agreed.

"Race you there!" Concrete exclaimed, shooting forward. Immediately, we began to run through the forest, with me in the lead so I could lead the way. Soon, we were at the Thunderpath. Concrete and I stopped running, but Skye raced right past us before skidding to a stop in the middle of the Thunderpath.

"Why'd you stop, guys? It's just a road," the blue cat said, quizzical. Or course, this is coming from someone whose den was by a street that wasn't very busy.

"Skye! Watch out!" Concrete exclaimed as a red car barreled down the street. Skye turned around and squeaked in fear as the car loomed closer to him. He was frozen to the spot until at the last second he crouched down, and the car ran over him.

"Skye! No!" I wailed at his body. After I checked to make sure no more cars were coming, I ran over to him. I didn't see any blood, so I had automatically assumed that the car had broken his neck, or his spine, or both. No wonder the forest cats called those things monsters!

As Concrete came over, Skye suddenly leaped onto his feet and shouted "Boo!" I screamed and backed away before laughing, while Concrete ran back to the other side of the road with a squeak.

"Claw, don't scare me like that!" I said, nudging him with my shoulder.

"What can I say? Pranking is kinda-sorta hereditary in my family. Plus, my Dad also taught me how to avoid getting hit by a car last week."

"Well, since you're alive, lets got to ShadowClan camp now." At that, we finished crossing the street and arrived in ShadowClan territory. Immediately, Concrete opened her mouth to take in some air.

"I can smell your father, Claw." She said.

"Really? I don't see him…"

"I smell him too, Claw. Maybe he's gonna—"

"Boo!" a voice suddenly exclaimed as a black blur leaped down from the air and landed in the middle of us. Immediately, we all scattered until I recognized my Dad's laughter. Focusing a bit more, I realized that it was _Dad _who had leaped down from the tree. He was doubled over in laughter.

"Dad?!" I exclaimed.

"You guys are too easy to scare for your own good!" he said before getting into a more serious mode, his ears still twitching. "News on the other Clans?"

"Well, ThunderClan and WindClan are both scared of you," Skye said, coming back from the tree he had climbed up.

"But they still plan to fight." Concrete added.

"And they went back to their camps to train." I concluded "Scared that you would lay ambush on them."

"Did you ambush them?" Scourge asked.

"…no."

"See?! I _told _you we should've ambushed them!" Skye exclaimed.

"I wanted to get back so we can do a bit of training of our own." I admitted.

"Very well. Now, lets go; I don't know how impatient Bone might be by now." We all followed Scourge to an area around the ShadowClan camp, where Bone was waiting for us.

"You're back," he stated.

"No, we're just leaving!" Scourge said sarcastically. Then he turned to the rest of his troops. "Alright, its obvious that we're gonna need a place to stay before we take over the forest. So we're gonna take over this camp. Here's the plan…"

"Blackfoot!" I shouted as I walked into the camp. ShadowClan cats took one look at me and made a clear berth for me to walk. The ShadowClan deputy looked up from the mouse he had been eating mournfully and froze in shock. And fear. Oh, the benefits of looking almost exactly like a cat everyone fears.

"Y-Y-Yes, Scourge?" he stammered, beginning to back away with his ears flat.

"I understand that, since that fool of a tabby Tigerstar's dead, you are the leader of ShadowClan,"

"Y-Yes. Why are you…?"

"Good to know. Now, then, we're taking over this camp. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

"Wait a second! You're not Scourge; you're his—"

"You killed my father!" I heard someone sob. I turned around to see a pale tortoiseshell she-cat leaping at me. I batted her away, but not before she could rake her claws down my shoulder.

"Did not!" I screeched at her. Then, loud enough for anyone outside of the camp to hear me, I shouted "BloodClan, attack!"

Panic automatically ensued. Scourge and Bone lead the rest of the Clan into the camp, and began to attack. I dealt with the tortoiseshell cat who had attacked me, just not enough to hurt her. She was still rather young; younger than me. I refused to hurt a cat younger than me so badly they would die from my claws. If their wounds got infected, it wasn't my fault.

After she turned tail and ran, I ran over to help Concrete, who was taking on two warriors nearly twice her age. While they were focused on her, I snuck behind them and bit one of their tails. The warrior screeched in pain before turning around and swiping his claws at me. I rolled over to avoid it before swiping at his muzzle, my claws a whisker away from his eyes. Concrete, during the meantime, scored her claws down the other warrior's side. That cat ran away with his tail between his legs.

Everything seemed to be going fine. Dad was currently riding on Blackfoot's back with his claws dug deep into his skin. Bone was tussling with a small brown tom, constantly biting on his tail and slicing at his back while the tom struggled to free himself.

Suddenly, a dark ginger she-cat grabbed Scourge by the scruff and peeled him off of Blackfoot. My father turned around with a hiss filled with hatred until he froze, eyes wide in shock. "Red?!" he gasped.

"Scourge," the cat acknowledged bitterly "My name is Russetfur now."

"So you really did join these filthy forest fools. I almost didn't believe it when Marmalade told me moons ago. But it doesn't matter; you'll be treated the same as all these other idiots you live with. Prepare to die." But Dad didn't carry out his promise…on his own. He called me over to him.

"Yes?" I said, padding over.

"This cat is a traitor. Kill her." He ordered. "After you're finished, I want you to raid the nursery; I'll get rid of the guards."

"Yes, father." I said. At that note, I turned towards the she-cat in front of me. I recognized her; she had left around the same time as Bone. It was easy to believe they had left together. Which meant she would get the traitor treatment.

Leaping into action, I prepared to score down her back with my sharpened claws, but she ducked low so I passed over her. When I landed, she turned around and sliced the tip of my ear so there was a small nick in it. Any other time, I would have been screeching with pain. But i was too busy to show weakness. So I reared onto my hind-feet and began to batter her head with blows. When I least expected it, a weight 'magically' appeared on my back that threw me off balance and sent me tumbling to the ground. Turned around to see Blackfoot preparing to clamp onto the scruff of my neck.

"You're not gonna hurt Russetfur!" he growled through my neck-fur. "But you're young, and strong. I won't kill you."

"Your mercy is your weakness!" I snarled, scratching his leg. Wincing, he let go of my neck and dropped me to the ground. "Your stupid warrior code keeps you from killing me when you had the chance. But we _have _no code to follow! We _have _no weakness!" at that, we began to tussle. Before long, I had him pressed to the ground with my front paws on his shoulders and a hind paw planted firmly on his tail. To my surprise, Russetfur began to laugh at her Clan mate's predicament. "Hey! Whats so funny?!"

"Oh, nothing," she said, giggling.

"Spit it out already!" had I not been distracted, I would have realized that Blackfoot was chuckling too. I didn't notice, though, until his body shifted just a bit before he sprung onto his feet and threw me off his back. I went flying into the air until I crash-landed into my father a few feet away, battling with a guard.

"Ow! Claw, what the heck?!" he hissed, shoving me off of him.

"Sorry! Blackfoot kinda-sorta threw me over here."

"As in…?"

"Remember that time when I was a kit and I woke you up and you kinda threw me into a trashcan?"

"…yeah."

"Like that."

"Beat these guards into a pulp; I'll finish him off." He said, stalking away.

The guards were easy to beat. They were already traumatized by seeing Scourge, and Dad had weakened them enough so I just had to scratch them once or twice and they fainted. With a chuckle, I padded into the den, where a long-legged, light brown tabby she-cat lay with two kits. The queen screamed, and the kits wailed.

'Do they think I'm Scourge?' I had to wonder as the queen trembled in fear. 'I'll use that to my advantage,'

"Alright, forest fools, listen up!" I hissed, pacing back and forth near the entrance of the den. "This camp is now under the authority of BloodClan! You have three options! You can join our Clan and survive the battle later to come, you can leave with your Clan mates and never come back, or leave with your Clan mates and die in battle three days from now. Which would you prefer?"

"S-Scourge?" a mottled brown kit asked.

"What?" I asked impatiently.

"If we all leave, can you tell your friends not to attack us?" a dark brown tom added. I sighed.

"I'll try my best," at that, I poked my head out of the nursery den and looked at 'my' Clan, who had the warriors and apprentices underneath their claws and the elders backed against the side of the camp. "Alright, guys! The queens and kits of ShadowClan want to leave the camp. Do _not _attack them, or I will personally slit your throat."

"What if _I _attack them?" Scourge teased "Or your mother?"

"…please don't attack them, guys." I said. At that, I shoved the kits out of the den, the tabby she-cat rushing out after them. Nobody moved a muscle until they left the camp. Then everyone else begged for mercy and asked to leave. Before long, all if ShadowClan had left the camp but a huge tabby tom. Scourge took a threatening step towards him, and he bowed in surrender.

"Scourge of BloodClan, I would be honored to fight alongside you in battle if you would allow it. I would like to join your Clan." He said.

"…alright. You can stay, I guess. But step out of line and I'll claw your throat to bits." Dad said.

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, guys, I've gotten word from some spies that two of the other Clans still plan to fight us in three days. We may have to do a bit of training before the battle, but I'm not too worried. Look at how easy it was to beat these punks. Lets eat some fresh kill!" at that note, we all feasted on the prey that ShadowClan had so kindly left for us.

**Okay, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Now here's my authors note. **

I now have an Instagram account. Its anipwrites, like my account on here. I post pictures of my dog, drawings I have in my sketchbook, and snapshots of things I see on walks. So if you like me, follow me on Instagram (if you have one.)

Also, this story might be a bit of a long one, but I doubt it'll reach the 50+ chapter point. I seriously think the only stories that'll manage that would be Ask the Warriors, Daring Scourge, and any other reader-request stories I start.

Alright, bye!

~~anipwrites~~


	11. Rat Attack: Camp Day 1

**Ok, ok, I know. I'm sorry it took so long to post this and stuff. But here's a really long chapter to make up for it.**

**I got permission from some people on Instagram to use their characters so yay. Those characters will be listed at the bottom.**

**Imma shut up and let you read now ok? Ok.**

* * *

10

Rat Attack: Camp Day 1

"Claw, go wake up the rest of the camp. It's time for training." My father ordered, poking me with his claws to wake me up.

"Why?" I asked, licking my paw. "We don't even _need _to train! You saw how scared those forest cats were of us!"

"If those cats were so scared of us, why do they still plan on fighting?"

"Hm…because their leaders are a bunch of idiotic forest fools? Once we kill off those two leaders, the rest will be _easy."_

"But still. We need to train. Wake them up."

"But _Dad—"_

"Wake. Them. _Up!_" at the tone of Dad's voice, I decided that it'd probably be in my best intentions not to argue with him anymore and to leave the den as quickly as possible to do as told.

The fist den I walked into had quite a few cats in it, one of them being Jaggedtooth. The large tabby was the only one awake; he was just lying there staring at his paws.

"Hey guys!" I shouted "Wake up; time to train!"

"Wha—huh?!" Jaggedtooth exclaimed, jumping to his paws in surprise and accidentally standing on the tail of the black and gray she-cat next to him. With an outraged yowl she woke up and glared at the tabby with piercing blue eyes.

"Get. Off. My. _Tail!_" she hissed. Jaggedtooth's ears flattened to his head as he got off her and ran out the den. This little argument had also managed to wake up everyone else in the den. "Anyways, what were you saying Claw?"

"Dad wants us to get a bit of training in before the battle in three days." I said.

"Why? We're gonna win anyways!"

"That's what I said! But he said to wake you guys up anyways." I stated before turning around and going to the next den.

"Hey, guys, wake up!" I yowled. The first cat to wake up was a cat with short blue fur and a rainbow colored collar.

"Hello, Claw!" she greeted with a purr.

"Hi, Rain. Dad wants us to train for a little."

"Okay! Don't worry; I'll wake the others."

"Thanks!"

"Claw!" I heard a cat yowl.

"Well, I've gotta go! Talk to you later, I guess!" I said before leaving the den. Everyone that was awake was surrounding the nearly-empty fresh kill pile, fighting over the last few mice. I groaned inwardly. It appeared that we needed food unless we wanted to kill each other fighting for the last morsels.

"Hey, _shut up!_" I shouted over the crowd. Everyone turned around to look at me. "If you guys could be patient for just a few minutes, Jaggedtooth and I will go hunting. Right, Jaggedtooth?"

"What?! But I never said anything about—"Jaggedtooth stammered.

"_Right, _Jaggedtooth?" I growled.

"Sure, fine, whatever."

"Ok. Hang tight, and if I find out that you started fighting over these stupid mice again, I'll have _all of you _cleaning up ShadowClan's dirt from the dirt-place." I said before leading Jaggedtooth out of the camp. Once we were far away enough I turned around and glared at him. "Hasn't _anyone _told you that you're supposed to _always _obey an order from me?!"

"They only told me Scourge or Bone or Brick."

"Well, _everyone_ except them follows my orders. No questions asked unless Scourge, Bone, or Brick say otherwise." I growled, looking the tabby straight in the eye. He cringed slightly in fear.

"O-O-Okay." He stammered.

"Anyways, lets hunt." At that, I turned back around and began to explore the territory for a good place to hunt.

I had already known that I wasn't the best hunter in the world, but hunting in unfamiliar territory was harder than I had expected. It seemed like _every single time _I found a piece of prey, I'd accidentially do _something _that alerted it of my presence and scared it away! The worst part was that Jaggedtooth was standing smugly next to a pile of about ten pieces of fresh-kill!

"…Jaggedtooth, I need help." I finally admitted.

"I knew you did. Follow me." The tabby said before disappearing in the trees. I walked after him, wondering where we were going.

Before long, we ended up in a fairly-smelly part of the territory in which a bunch of trash and other Twoleg rubbish was piled up. I caught a quick whiff of carrion before Jaggedtooth pushed me into the pile.

"Hey! What the heck was that for?!" I shouted, trying to find a way out.

"You BloodClan cats are good at fighting, right?" he asked.

"Of course! What made you think we weren't?!"

"Kill as many rats as you can without getting bitten, and bring them out so we can bring them back to camp as food." My eyes grew large at the mention of rats.

"R-Rats?! _Jaggedtooth get me outta here!_"

"What, you're scared?"

"Do you even know how many cats die from rat bites each season in this clan?!"

"No, how many?"

"_Five!_ Now get me out!"

"Ok, ok, fine, I'm coming; just hang on and don't be scared. Rats can smell fear." Jaggedtooth grumbled. I heard him padding towards the mound of trash.

"There's something on my tail!"

"Calm down; its probably just a piece of trash or something."

"Then why is it _moving?!_" I exclaimed.

"Kill it!" I turned around to see a large rat climbing up my back. Before it realized I had seen it, I shook it off of me and into the mass of others gathering behind me. Their beady red eyes glistened in the darkness as they surrounded us.

"Oh, dear StarClan, help us." Jaggedtooth muttered before they sprang. "Its either fight or die now!"

"Is running an option?!" I asked, swiping at a rat's eyes before killing it.

"They're blocking the way I came in!"

"What are we gonna do?!"

"_Attack!_" a voice suddenly exclaimed. Out the corner of my eye, I saw a mass of gray fur run past me, its familiar scent wafting into my nose.

"Concrete!" I sighed in relief.

"And me too!" Skye added as he leaped to my side, attacking a rat who had been getting a bit too close.

"Skye! I've never been so glad to see you two!"

"Just _shut up _and _attack!_" Jaggedtooth ordered, clawing away at some rats. At that exact moment, I screeched in pain as a rat bit down on my hind leg. I kicked it away before Concrete killed it.

"There's too many of them!" she shouted as two jumped at her. I knocked one away while the other was caught under Concrete's claws.

"We need to retreat!" I added.

"Lets get out of here, then! Bring all the kills!" Jaggedtooth said, picking up the dead rats near him and running out of the den.

"I've got you guys covered; go!" Skye said. I nodded before grabbing as many dead rats as I could before following Jaggedtooth.

"We'll come back to get you!" Concrete vowed before coming after us.

"Alright, lets—where's the blue kid?" Jaggedtooth asked, looking at Concrete and I warily.

"He was covering us back at the rat den. We were just about to go back and get him."

"You left him _behind _in a _rat den?!_"

"Well, now that you say it like that…but he was so sure of himself!" I said. "And plus, he's a BloodClan cat, no matter how shy and awkward he is sometimes! We knew he'd be able to survive a few—"

"_That doesn't matter!_ Even the _bravest _warriors don't go in a rat den without a partner! Would you like to know why?!"

"Uh…"

"Because those rats can _kill _cats like us! They knock their victim down to the ground, and they _never get back up!_" Concrete and I gasped. Was that the fate we had left for Skye to suffer?!

"Lets go!" I ordered Concrete, running back down the half-grassy slope to the den. Once the two of us got back inside, we gasped.

Skye was buried under a mass of rats clawing and biting at his pelt. Other rats were running towards him to join in the 'fun'. He screamed in pain before it was stopped short.

"_Skye!_" Concrete screamed in anguish. After the initial shock was over, it felt like every drop of blood, every vein in my body, turned to ice. I felt my eyes narrowing as I targeted the biggest of these murderous rats to kill first. With a battle cry, I sprang and attacked it in a flurry of furious claws and teeth. Once it was dead, I attacked the next one and the next one until they were all either dead or retreating back into their homes in the trash. Now it was just me, Concrete, and Skye.

"Skye! Get up; we have to get outta here!" I said. His tail twitched, but he didn't move or respond otherwise. "Skye!"

"Claw, behind you!" Concrete shouted. I whirled around to see the biggest rat I had ever seen creeping towards me, a small entourage of smaller mice following it. Had it been any other moment, I might have screamed, paralyzed by fear. But no. my friend was on the brink of death, and I had to make sure he got out of here alive.

"_SCRAM!_" I spat at them, every drop of hate I felt for these stinky creatures in that one word. Immediately, they cowered in fear before running to hide in the shadows amongst the other beady red eyes watching us.

"We need to get him out of here, quickly!" Concrete said. I kneeled down to the ground so she could nudge the blue-furred cat onto my shoulders before helping me get him out of the den.

When Jaggedtooth saw us, he stifled a gasp, his eyes wide. "This is all my fault…!" he murmured.

"You bet it is!" Concrete hissed, venom thick in her voice. "What were you thinking, pushing Claw into a rat den?! Now a cat is severely injured because of you!"

"He was my best friend, and now he's gone!" I snarled at him, trying to hide the sadness I really felt.

"Not _was, _Claw; _is!_ He's still breathing! But we need to get him back to camp _now!_"

"R-Right," I said. Concrete took Skye and put him on her shoulders before walking back to camp as fast as she could with the extra weight. I raced after her while Jaggedtooth followed behind slower than a turtle.

Once we got back to the camp, most of our BloodClan warriors were blocking the entrance, looking as if they expected someone to toss them food. But once they saw Skye's body they froze in shock. I heard a mournful wail coming from the back of the crowd, and every cat moved aside as a blue she-cat with bright green eyes ran towards us.

"No! My son!" she wailed. "What happened to him?!"

"He was ambushed by rats. I'm sorry, Vapor; I tried my best but—" I began to say.

"He was my last kit! The last litter I had before Blizzard died, and the only son I ever had! I cant believe he's gone!" Vapor began to sob hysterically.

"What is going on here?!" my father said as he walked towards us. The cats backed away even more as the leader of BloodClan walked in their midst. "What happened to him?"

"Ask Jaggedtooth," Concrete snarled. Every cat grew silent and glared at the dark tabby, who had just arrived at the entrance to the camp.

"What?! It was _those _two who left him behind!" he exclaimed in self defense.

"Yeah, well, none of this would've ever even _happened _if you hadn't pushed me into a _rat den _in the _first _place!" I shouted.

"You pushed my son into a _rat den?!_ And caused the injury of this cat?!" Scourge snarled menacingly.

"I-I-I—" Jaggedtooth stammered.

"_Breeze!_" Scourge called out.

"Yes?" a gray cat with golden eyes asked as she walked up to the crowd from the corner of the camp where the medicine cat den was. She took one glance at Skye and gasped. "This cat needs treatment! He needs to come to the den!"

"Jaggedtooth, help Breeze take Skye to her medicine den and report to my den _pronto!_ Claw, Concrete; come with me. We all need to have a talk." Scourge ordered. Jaggedtooth nodded nervously and rushed to the medicine cat den as Scourge walked to the leaders den, Concrete and I following him obediently. Vapor ran after Jaggedtooth into the den, and the rest of the cats began to try to act like everything was normal.

For awhile, Concrete and I sat awkwardly in my father's den as we waited for Jaggedtooth. Scourge was pacing back and forth, muttering incoherently to himself. As soon as Jaggedtooth came into the den, Scourge turned around and scored his claws down Jaggedtooth's flank. The tabby yowled in pain before his ear was nicked near the base.

"What was _that _for?!" he hissed, turning around to lick at his wound.

"_That _was for pushing my son into a _rat den!_ Anyone in their _right mind _would kill you right now!" Scourge snarled. The black cat muttered something to himself as he took a few deep breaths and sat down; something he said too quietly for me to comprehend. My father screwed his eyes shut as if he was trying to control himself. "Anyways," he growled through gritted teeth, his voice getting icy "What happened? Starting from the beginning. Leave out a _single detail, _and I'll give you a pain worse than death!"

"Okay, so after I woke everyone up for training, we all went to the fresh kill pile. But there was barely any food left from yesterday night's feast, so everyone started fighting each other for the last few mice. I stopped the fight and said Jaggedtooth and I would go hunting and we left." I said.

"Skye and I followed them out without them noticing. Claw was having a bit of difficulty hunting in this territory, so Jaggedtooth took him to a dump and pushed him into a pile of trash. Claw got angry and asked why he did that and Jaggedtooth said that, since he was a good fighter, to kill as many rats as he could without getting bitten. Claw freaked out, so Jaggedtooth went in with him when the rats attacked." Concrete added.

"We were outnumbered, rats closing in on every side. But, right when we were beginning to lose hope in our own survival, this chick and that blue kid—"Jaggedtooth began to explain.

"_We have names you know!_"

"—ran in and started fighting with us. But we were still terribly outnumbered. So I said we should retreat, and bring all the rats we killed before I left the den."

"Skye said he'd cover us, to make sure none of the rats snuck up and hurt us. So we left and took our dead rats to the top of the slope before Jaggedtooth asked where he was. We told him, and he was all like 'You never go in a rat den alone because they'll attack you, bring you to the ground, and you never get back up'." I stated.

"So we freaked and went back in to get him but he was covered in rats and when we got them all off of him…" Concrete murmured before she began to cry.

"Hm…so you're all guilty." Scourge stated.

"What?!" we all exclaimed.

"Jaggedtooth because he was the one who caused it all to happen, and you two because you left him behind in a rat den. Concrete, I'm not sure about you, but I _know _I taught Claw better than to do that."

"Yes, sir." I murmured sadly.

"So you all have to clean the dirt place, get the ticks off the elders, replace the moss every day, and hunt until the battle."

"Yes, sir." We all said. At that, we walked out of the den before my father came up with something else to add to our punishment.

"Lets go see how Skye's doing," I suggested to Concrete. She nodded before we headed to the clump of ferns in the corner of the camp.

Inside, Breeze was putting a sort of poultice on Skye's wounds before she turned around and saw us.

"Oh, hello," she said "I already know what you're gonna ask; Skye still hasn't woken up yet, but he's still alive. I'll let you know once he does. I promise. Now go."

"Okay." I said "Thanks, Breeze!"

"No problem!" at that, we turned to leave and begin our chores.

* * *

Later that afternoon, everyone had eaten their food and was ready to train. Of course, Dad had sent a few of our warriors to the surrounding territories both to find extra prey and for more news on the clan cats. They all came back unharmed, replying that any RiverClan cat who saw them ran as far away as possible and that the WindClan cats would back off a little and smelled of fear scent at any appearances. I saw my father conversing with the black and gray cat Jaggedtooth had stepped on this morning. She was all black save for her tail, ears, and paws, which were gray.

"Any updates on the forest cats, Night?" Dad asked.

"Well, ShadowClan appears to have moved in with RiverClan after we attacked them. ThunderClan territory was up and running, filled with cats training. Even kits and elders; it was far too busy to try and sneak through, especially since I had Snow with me. Her pelt would've stuck out of those trees like a fox in a group of cats. Anyways, WindClan was mainly using one area of their territory." The cat replied.

"ThunderClan seems pretty serious about fighting us…hmph. Thank you, Night." Scourge said. Then he turned to the rest of us. "You guys find a few partners and train. At least five. Each of you will be a warrior from the different clans. Go."

Everyone immediately scrambled to find their friends for their training groups. Concrete immediately walked over to me with Rain and Night. Another cat followed timidly behind them. She had light gray fur with darker spots, almost like leopard print, and hazel eyes. her collar was red and had a few teeth piercing through it.

"Claw, this is my friend Leopard. She's new to the clan." Concrete said.

"Hello, Claw," the cat said.

"Hi," I greeted "So we have enough for a group. I'll be the BloodClan warrior, and you guys decide who you are."

"Whoa whoa whoa, _wait!_ Why does _he _get to be the BloodClan warrior and not any of the rest of us?! Who says _I _don't want to be the BloodClan warrior?!" Leopard exclaimed.

"Because he said so…?" Night said with a shrug. "It might be because he's an authority figure."

"Yeah. Now lets go." I said.

"Ok, but I'm the BloodClan warrior." Leopard stated.

"No, I am."

"Guys, does it really matter?" Concrete sighed,

"Yes, it does. I'm going to be the BloodClan warrior."

"No, I am! You cant just put yourself above us like that! Who made you leader of the Clan?!" Leopard hissed.

"Scourge did! As future heir of this clan, _I _will be the BloodClan warrior! You don't even know any of the fighting techniques!"

"Just because you're royalty doesn't mean you get to have everything you want, you spoiled idiot!"

"What did you just call me?!" I growled as menacingly as possible. I wasn't spoiled, and I definitely wasn't an idiot! How dare she call me such?!"

"Everyone _calm down!_" Rain hissed. "Are we _seriously _fighting over this?!"

Leopard glared at me "_He_ started it! I think, as the oldest cat in this group, that _I_ should be the BloodClan warrior!"

"As the _heir _of all of BloodClan itself, I object!" I growled.

"Ok, how about we all take _turns_ being the BloodClan warrior? It'd make things so much simpler." Rain stated.

"Hmph, fine."

"Alright…" Leopard muttered. "_I CALL GOING FIRST!"_

"I called it a long time before you did!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah—"

"_SHUT IT WILL YOU?!"_ Night shouted. The two of us quieted down, simply glaring at each other. "Since you guys cant seem to agree, _Concrete _will be the first BloodClan warrior!"

"But—" the two of us began defiantly. A dirty look from the black and gray cat shut us up immediately. "Alright, fine…"

"Good. Now lets find a place that isn't already taken and start." At that, we all began to look around until we found some sort of marshy clearing near the back of the territory.

"So what now?" Rain asked.

"We have a mock-battle, I guess." I said with a shrug.

"Alright then. Hey, where'd Concrete go?" Leopard asked. There was a screech before a gray blur knocked over Night.

"There she is! ThunderClan, attack!" I shouted before we all began to fight, all claws sheathed except mine. I couldn't help it; battles of any kind made me unsheathe my claws instinctively. But when I heard Concrete's yelp of pain I remembered the rules; claws sheathed. With a quick flex of my muscles my claws sank into my paws; except for the dogs teeth.

After a while we had Concrete pinned to the ground. She wriggled around trying to escape.

"If this was a real battle you'd be injured or dead." Night stated, putting a paw on her in triumph. I saw the gray cat smirk, a twinkle in her blue eyes.

"Not just yet, I'm not!" she said before leaping to her feet, shoving Night off of her, before batting her paw against my muzzle. In a split second we were play-fighting again. Concrete tackled me to the ground and pinned me there stomach-up. She slid her paws across my throat, tickling me and making me laugh. "Boom. You're dead." She said before leaping off me and continuing to 'attack' the rest of the training group. I had to stand from the sidelines and watch.

* * *

The practice sessions went on like this for a while longer until we had all been the BloodClan warrior and it began to get dark outside. As we walked back to our camp I froze.

"Claw? Is there something wrong?" Rain asked as she noticed I had stopped. I opened my jaws to let some scent in as I tried to single out what was so peculiar.

"There's another cat here, watching us." I finally said "I don't recognize the scent, and I cant pinpoint where it's coming from."

"Really? We should try and find it." Concrete said.

"But what if the strange cat was a threat to us? Then we'd pretty much be walking up to him and saying 'hey, you! Lets play hide-and-seek! The last cat to not die wins!'" Night stated.

"But if we don't investigate we'll lead the cat to our camp and they'll attack us as we sleep!" Leopard said.

"I say we investigate. After all, if this cat has bad intentions for BloodClan, we wouldn't want to lead him to our camp." I said. With a nod, we all split up and began to try and catch a scent trail.

"I found it!" Concrete exclaimed after a moment.

"Lets follow it!" Night said.

"I'll take the lead," I added. Concrete moved aside to let me go in front of her and we began to follow the trail.

After awhile I saw a white blob a bit farther ahead of me and signaled for everyone to stay where they were while I checked it out. Slowly, I crept forward until I was behind the cat before I pounced. With a screech we began to battle. I bit down on her hind leg, and she whirled around to grab my tail between her teeth and clamp down. With a yowl of pain I scratched at her muzzle. She dodged the blow but let go of me in the process.

After a bit of fighting we broke apart to catch our breath.

"Who are you?!" I snarled.

"My name is River. I'm a member of BloodClan." The cat said cooly.

"You are? I've never seen you before. Not that I can remember…" I murmured "Ok, whatever. I apologize for attacking you. Let's get back to camp; we shouldn't be out here at this hour by ourselves. Some of those forest fools might try and ambush us."

"Of course," the she-cat said. At that I walked back the way I had came, with River following me.

It took a bit of explaining, but after awhile my friends accepted her and we took her back to camp. During the trek through the forest we asked her a forest full of questions that she simply didn't seem to feel like answering. I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable at all, so we didn't press her too hard.

When we got to camp Brick was guarding the entrance. Her eyes widened at the sight of River, and she stood up to greet her. "River! Where have you been?! Everyone thinks you're dead!" she gasped.

"I got separated from everyone and had to try and find my way back. When I go to the new territory some cats told me my father and mother were here." River replied

"Well I am certain that your parents will be overjoyed to see you!" at that, the red-colored cat let us inside the camp.

As soon as we walked in Bone saw us and went to retrieve Scourge. I assumed it was to tell him a missing warrior had been found.

Cats began to gather around River, either repeatedly saying how happy they were to see her, asking her where she's been, or saying how they thought she was a goner. Or wondering who the heck she was, why the heck was she so special, and where the heck she came from like I was pretty sure just about every cat my age was thinking.

Mom ran right up to her sobbing. "Oh, River! Where have you been?! Your father and I thought you had been captured when the Twolegs invaded!"

"Wait, what?! Mom, what do you—" I tried to ask.

"Scourge, look who Claw found!" I heard Bone exclaim as he and my father walked out of his den and towards the mass of cats surrounding Concrete, Night, Rain, Leopard, River, and I. most cats moved aside for him but some were so distracted by the appearance of River that they didn't realize Scourge was even there.

"What is it?" Scourge asked. Then he turned his head away from Bone to find himself face to face with River. "River?!" Dad's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell to the ground. He had fainted.

"Dad?!" I said in surprise.

"Why'd you just call my dad 'dad'?" River asked.

"Why are you saying my dad is your dad when he's obviously my dad and not yours?"

"Because he _is_ my dad, you faker!"

"No, he's _my_ dad!"

"Claw, this is your older sister River. River, this is your younger brother Claw." Fang stated, interrupting our argument.

"_Older sister?!_ B-But Dad told me I was his first litter! How could I have an older sister if—"

"You're his second litter. After the Twoleg Invasion, your father tried to forget about River and the rest of his first litter because his grief was affecting the way he ran the clan."

"Oh…I'm sorry…" River murmured.

"A Twoleg Invasion? I've never heard of this." I said.

"Everyone tried to forget about it and didn't want to scare any young kits. It happened seasons ago; before you were even born." Mom stated.

"The Twoleg Invasion began when BloodClan was at it's strongest. There was plenty of food and plenty of warriors to defend our territory. Kits were being born almost every week and rarely ever knew what hunger felt like." River began to explain. "Then the Twolegs went out of their way to try and get rid of us. Nobody knows what could have triggered it."

"Cats began to disappear regularly, never to return. After awhile we discovered that the disappearances were connected to the strange cages that had begun to appear, filled with food. A cat would step inside to eat his fill and the cage door would close down on him, leaving him trapped with no way out. One day our father was trapped."

"The cage had been well camouflaged with leaves that had fallen from the trees with the coming of fall. A patrol of cats were sent to stay with him to try and figure out if there was any way to get him out before the Twoleg's took him away for good. So of course when a group of twolegs came and began to pick up the cages, they attacked. Of course it's impossible for cats to kill a Twoleg, but we scared them enough to make them drop most of the cages, free the cats, and leave for the moment."

"But then enough was enough. A few days later, when we were having the clan meeting in the park as we did then, they attacked. They grabbed random cats and put them in cages we couldn't get them out of. My father and I were separated in the chaos. I ran away to hide from the twolegs, and when I came back everyone had left the Twolegplace. I searched around in hope of finding my clan but I never found our new territory until a day ago."

"Hey! Scourge is waking up!" Brick exclaimed, backing away from the black and white cat.

Almost immediately, everyone crowded around the black and white cat as he opened his ice blue eyes.

"What happened…?" he asked as he sat up. Then he saw River. "River! You're alive!"

"Yes, father, I am." River purred.

"A-Are you ok? Are you hurt? How did you find us?" Scourge began to ask a long string of questions one after the other and River spent the whole night answering them. I just stood there, still shocked by the fact I had a secret sister, until I grew tired and went to the den to sleep.

* * *

**So yay! New characters for me to borrow yayz!**

**Night: nightclawfighter**

**Rain: paintstar_artist**

**Leopard: infinite_enerjak**

**River: riverfang**

**Oh yeah, Breeze, Blizzard, and Vapor are all my characters, along with Claw, Concrete, Fang, Skye, and…anyone else I'm forgetting at the moment.**

**Scourge, Bone, Brick, Jaggedtooth, and anyone else I'm forgetting belong to Erin Hunter.**

**So yeah bye for now!**


End file.
